The value, quality and dignity of human life needs to be the central consideration in thinking about responses to asylum seekers.
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| Uniting Church Queensland moderator, Rev. Kaye Ronalds, speaks at the prayer vigil. |
Pastor Jim de Witte of the Redlands Christian Reformed Church in Ormiston said this in opening the prayer vigil for asylum seekers, organised by Redlands for Refugees and held at his church last Friday night, 11 April 2014.
More than 100 people from across the Redlands and further afield attended the vigil.
Speakers included church leaders and two asylum seekers, with music from members of the refugee choir, Scattered People.
Participants lit candles of remembrance and hope, and wrote messages of encouragement for asylum seekers on cardboard hands which were placed inside a small boat.
Pastor de Witte said the vigil sought to offer a place where people could connect with the human faces and stories of asylum seekers, in the context of the Christian and humanitarian principles of dignity, compassion, respect, welcome and valuing of life.
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| Some members of the Scattered People choir, performing at the prayer vigil |
Tamil priest Fr Pancras Jordan spoke about the situations of violence and oppression around the world which forced many to flee their homelands; the Anglican Dean of Brisbane, Very. Rev. Dr Peter Catt, who chairs the Australian Churches Refugee Taskforce, spoke about the need for truthful language and a focus on human and moral rather than political considerations; and Uniting Church (Qld) moderator, Rev. Kaye Ronalds, referred to biblical injunctions to care for widows and orphans and welcome the stranger, and gave many examples of people and communities responding with practical compassion to asylum seekers.
