The concept of a church as a place of sanctuary has existed for centuries. Historically, people who sought refuge from danger, persecution, or injustice could find protection within the walls of a church. St Mary’s Church in Brecon has opted to continue this tradition by hosting a display of a sample of work done by pupils in Llangors Church in Wales School on the theme of sanctuary .
more details about this work can be seen
hereLlangors School is applying to be recognised as a
School of Sanctuary. The award of School of Sanctuary means that
the school is a place of welcome to all, that it educates young people about why people are forcibly displaced, recognises that
the UK is enriched by new arrivals and above all supports pupils from all backgrounds to feel seen, supported and included.
Last term Llangors School years 5and 6 pupils worked upon the global reasons behind why people need to flee including issues around climate change and wars and how throughout history there are many examples from biblical times to present day.
Mr Mark Williams with Otis Bolamu on his recent visit to Llangorse school.
‘You can see the children’s pride when they discuss the importance of our school becoming a School of Sanctuary and their understanding of current affairs and the context in which seeking sanctuary is needed. Generally in the Autumn term we have spent time on the Second World War and experiences of evacuation and now the freedom of the new Welsh curriculum means that we can cover a much broader range of subjects and link the experiences of evacuation to the present day.’ commented Mr Mark Williams Deputy Head. ‘The topic of sanctuary has allowed us to show links between the story of Moses leading the Hebrews from Egypt , the Christmas story and current events in Syria and beyond. Our pupils have been encouraged to write empathetic essays and persuasive speeches, to interview a range of people about their experience of seeking refuge or supporting people across the world, to write poetry and to paint . We are so pleased to be able to share some of this exciting work and hope that a bigger display will be available in the Cathedral in July. ‘
The donkey was made to illustrate the Christmas story and how Jesus’s parents had to flee to save his life.
Ailsa Dunn, Trustee of Hay Brecon and Talgarth Sanctuary for Refugees said that ‘it has been a great privilege to have been asked to help find a few speakers and resources for the pupils and to assist in bringing their work to a wider audience. The writing especially shows great maturity and insight and some of the paintings of people seeking sanctuary are haunting. We hope that the school will be recognised as a School of Sanctuary this year . We are delighted that there are several other local schools who are also making great strides towards this award and we’ll look forward to celebrating with them all. At a time when the media is full of stories about ‘illegal migration’ and the use of Rwanda as a place to determine asylum claims for people who have sought asylum in the Uk, it has been so refreshing to hear the positivity of the pupils about welcome and compassion. ‘
Do call into St Mary’s Church to see the samples of work
This is an ‘earth biscuit’. Made to remind us that there is only one world, Ein Byd
