Community sponsorship is a new initiative by the Church of England designed to support local churches resettling refugees in partnership with the Home Office.
This initiative will build on the positive work since the 2015 General Synod which agreed a motion urging “parishes and dioceses to work closely with local authorities and other community partners, to provide practical and sustainable resources and structures for the resettlement of vulnerable refugees and to pray for all those seeking to address the causes as well as the symptoms of this crisis”.
Since then dozens of parishes have taken part in community sponsorship and welcoming families from Syria with at least 20 serving as lead sponsor.
Domenica Pecoraro is the Church's National Representative for Community Sponsorship. Domenica works with a steering group chaired by the Bishop of Bradwell, Dr John Perumbalath, who also chairs the inter-denominational Churches' Refugee Network, and is supported by staff from Church of England’s national Mission and Public Affairs team.
Domenica and the steering group are tasked with working collectively to support churches working with refugees, to expand on the work achieved since 2015 and to work collaboratively with partners across the Church and society.
For further information, contact our national representative at [email protected].