Refugee Integration and the Arts of Hospitality
2019 De Carle Distinguished Lecture
Lecture four: Professor Alison Phipps, UNESCO Chair in Refugee Integration through Languages and the Arts (University of Glasgow)
This talk will reflect on the role played by faith communities in the welcome of refugees to Europe, and especially to Scotland over the past 10 years. It will share stories from individual countries but also from the City of Glasgow, known for its campaigning offer of hospitality and protection, and from personal hosting. It will also consider the reluctance of congregations and communities to act until a point of crisis had been reached and the compatibility of faith-based teachings, prayer and obedience to teachings with the practical realities of societies in the grip of fear. Using poetry, liturgy and story the talk will take the form of a journey out into the public square and back into the recesses of the spirit.
This talk is hosted by the Centre for Global Migrations, Mornington Methodist Church and the Dunedin Interfaith Council.