Being a Welcoming Church

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Our Being a Welcoming Church project arose from meetings internally and discussions around our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion work. The campaign began in March 2023, with the first of four virtual meetings, each one looking at a different area. The overarching theme was to look at what is currently happening and what needs to be done in the future by individuals, parishes and at Diocesan level, to really meet the needs of people within these four areas of our society: namely Older People, people with physical and mental Disabilities, Refugees & Migrants and Homelessness.

In September 2023, it was our pleasure to host our first face-to-face event at St. Catherine of Siena Church in central Birmingham. One of the positive things to come from this was the setting up of four committees, each focusing on one theme.

Find out more about our discussions so far below and contact us if you’d like to get involved.

Older People

Our session on older people featured St. Joseph’s Care Home and Young at Heart, along with 3 parish projects: Dementia Choir in Bulkington, Pastimes in Leamington and a Dementia Carers Group and drop in, Harborne.

Dave Newell, project manager at Brushstrokes, spoke about myths and misconceptions around refugees. Jo Watters spoke about Community Projects and short videos from a family supported through Refugee Community Sponsorship and from the Jesuits featuring Brushstrokes were shown.

Refugees, Asylum Seekers & Migrants

Disability

Our featured service was Domiciliary Care and Supported Living. We were joined by speakers from the Archdiocese of Birmingham Nuneaton Catholic Disability Fellowship, Sunday Friends Group, Hand in Hand, and Gareth O’Keefe as a parent of children with additional needs. We also covered parish guidelines on autism.

Sharon Fear, project manager at Tabor Living covered statistics and myths around homelessness and how to help someone who is currently experiencing homelessness. We heard from one of Tabor Living’s corporate supporters – M Lambe Construction.