The Kirby Laing Institute for Christian Ethics have just published an issue of ‘Ethics in Brief’ that I have co-written with Mark Walley, who runs Home for Good‘s unaccompanied minors project alongside establishing its political advocacy work. The title is ‘Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children: Shaping A Church Response’.
This is one example of the kind of work we are producing as part of the research project, ‘Meeting the Needs of Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children (UASC) in Gloucestershire: Enhancing the Response of the Local Church’. Here’s a link to the full article, as well as the introductory paragraph.
Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children: Shaping A Church Response:
The phenomenon of Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children (UASC) has featured prominently, at times, in press coverage and political debate around the current refugee crisis in Europe. When engaged, the national mood seems to have ranged from deep pity to suspicion and hostility. But how should the UK church respond and how might the Bible play a part in shaping that response? The article gives a brief overview of the scale and nature of the situation in Europe regarding unaccompanied children, explores several biblical passages that could contribute to a church response that is both theologically informed and practically expressed, and concludes with some ways forward for churches.
Fostering, Adoption and the Church 