We are honoured to once again have the opportunity to organise the Church of England’s online service on Sunday 15th October. It will focus on the link between modern slavery and refugees.
This is the third time The Clewer Initiative has been asked to host an online service for Anti-Slavery Day. This year’s service will highlight the presence of modern slavery in our communities and particularly focus on the importance of caring for refugees who can be at risk of being drawn into modern slavery.
We believe this theme will resonate as many Christian communities have been on the frontline, welcoming Ukrainian and Afghan refugees to the UK. It is also extremely topical and therefore important to explain the link between the vulnerability of refugees and risk of exploitation.
We are delighted that Canterbury Cathedral has agreed to host the service as The Clewer Initiative worked closely with the Diocese of Canterbury, Canterbury Cathedral and Kent Refugee Action Network (KRAN) in June 2023 to organise a three day programme of activity, entitled A community of compassion to coincide with Refugee Week. It was a huge success and hundreds of local people (school children, faith leaders, clergy, young people, local community champions and activists) got involved. It has laid the foundation for ongoing work and follow up initiatives across the Diocese that will raise awareness and lead to practical actions in tackling modern slavery at the grassroots.
This service is another opportunity to showcase the important work Canterbury Diocese and Canterbury Cathedral’s have done in reaching out to and caring for refugees and inspire others to follow suit.
To tune into the service, visit churchofengland.org/prayer-and-worship/join-us-church-online/weekly-online-services
