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Newsletter
From the Autumn Newsletter of the Friary
Drop-In, West Bridgford, Nottingham.
Room For Everyone
 I
expect that all our local junior schools will be having what they call a
‘Nativity’. Every child will have some part or other, and there may even
have been a competition as to who shall play Mary – a part endowed with
great honour. Many of us recall being shepherds, kings or even donkeys
(a recipe for chaos), but I always fancied the role of innkeeper.
I had the vision of standing in the doorway, raising
my hand before the exhausted Mary and Joseph declaring, ‘No, you can’t
come in, there’s no room left.’ Then, after being prevailed upon by my
wife to show some sympathy, relenting, with ‘But there’s the stable at
the back, if you can make do.’ and feeling very pleased with my
generosity.
So, we are told, Jesus was born a refugee, the child
of refugees fleeing from the wrath and jealousy of the murdering Herod.
Does anything change?
Christmas does not stem the ebb and flow of life,
putting it on hold in a holy glow. There is no holiday from hardship and
homelessness, neither is there any cease-fire or amnesty in those
nations where the threat of violence forces families to flee for their
lives.
This is why Friary Drop-In keeps what it calls an
‘open door’. It aims to offer a welcome without barriers or reservations
to all-comers. For a few visitors, Friary Drop-In is the only place
where they are still welcome, because they are barred (sometimes
justifiably) elsewhere.
So, in recent years, Friary Drop-In has welcomed many
more and different kinds of ‘refugees', including not a few asylum
seekers. There are also migrant labourers still looking for work. One or
two have worked for us as volunteers and gone on to find employment.
Some come with deep personal or health issues, requiring patient
assessment and treatment. But none are turned away.
Currently, there is much talk in the media about
unsustainable levels of immigration, and politicians are calling for a
rational discussion devoid of racism: perhaps they are right, but the
stranger will, inevitably, hear the message as ‘Go home, you’re not
wanted, there is no room.’
Well, they won’t hear it at Friary Drop-In, whether
they come from as near as the Meadows or as far away as Macedonia or
Morocco. Whatever the rights or wrongs, when they stand at our door,
they will be welcomed in.
From that standpoint, every day at Friary Drop-In is
a kind of Christmas Day – a day when closed doors are opened and the
dawn of new life begins.
If you want to show that you share in this project
all the year round, please become a supporter or a volunteer, a carol
singer or a sandwich maker – whatever you can offer – there’s room for
you too!
May we thank you for your support during the past
year and wish you and yours a very happy Christmas.
Duncan Wilson
Chair of Trustees
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