Norwich leader talks about asylum seeker ministry

At this month's Transforming Norwich meeting, Rev Mark Elvin shared his passion for ecumenism, and the church in Bowthorpe’s journey to support the asylum seekers who have arrived on their doorstep. 

Leaders from across Greater Norwich met at Bowthorpe Church for the January Transforming Norwich meeting. Rev Mark Elvin who is Minister of Bowthorpe Church spoke after lunch, starting with some background about how the church works as a Local Ecumenical Partnership between the Church of England, United Reformed Church, Methodist Church and Baptist Church, so that it has become a place where people from all traditions and none feel welcomed. Mark explained “we have people here… who've come to faith here and this is all they know. So when it comes to things like saying which denomination you are, there are quite a few people who actually don't know, which I think is quite a good thing, because we're not going to be asked which denomination we are when we meet the Lord.”

Although Mark admitted that working across denominations has its challenges, he indicated that the key to success was “not focusing on the things that divide us but the things that unite us.  I think there are so many things that could easily divide us – all you have to do is open the Bible and people have different opinions, different theologies, different understandings, and so for me it's about holding together the most important things which unite us, which is our faith in Christ.”

Mark went on to share the way in which the last few years has brought a whole new aspect to their ministry and outreach as a church, as they became aware of a group of asylum seekers who had arrived in a nearby hotel having fled from Iran, South Sudan and Guinea. The church reached out to them, and a number of them began to come along to the church and exploring faith, with some choosing to take the step of baptism.

Mark explained how the church translates the service each week into Farsi, they have run the Alpha course in Farsi, given each asylum seeker a Bible in their own language and run the Joining the Family course for existing church members and asylum seekers to be part of together. They have also worked together with Holy Trinity Church in Norwich who have had experience over a number of years with working with asylum seekers, including hosting a joint social event over the summer in Eaton Park. However, Mark explained “I think the key thing is not whether we could speak their language or not, but whether they felt welcome and felt safe. And they've said to me they feel welcome, they keep on coming back.”

Although Mark said that the church’s work with asylum seekers has been a learning curve, he also recognised that God had been preparing them in advance. “In early 2020, we'd just had Christmas. I'd done a thing with the carol services about Christmas traditions and how they speak of God, and so I'd had different flags. And in the New Year, I just had this sense, I need to buy a whole lot of flags. God told me to put up these flags, the flags from 200 countries which you will see in the church now. And then, two years later, we have our first asylum seekers come. And the fact that their flag is actually by the front door, the Iranian flag. And we've had other people from other countries now coming in, saying, ‘we can see our flag!’”

Mark concluded that “we've made all kinds of mistakes, but God has used our inefficiency and our lack of knowledge and taken it and done something beautiful.”

To find out more about their work with asylum seekers, contact Mark Elvin, mark.elvin2@btinternet.com
 
Future meetings of Transforming Norwich:
March 20 2024: St Cuthbert's Sprowston
May 15 2024: King's Community Church
July 10 2024: YMCA, Aylsham Road

Please contact Anna Heydon with any questions: transformingnorwich@gmail.com

Photo above of Rev Mark Elvin with asylum seekers at Bowthorpe Church, provided by Mark Elvin.

Below, video of Jenny Holcombe from St Andrew's Church, Eaton after the Transforming Norwich meeting.