Liturgy
The Great Thanksgiving
- Cultural Common-Union
The Revd Katrina Holgate, Priest-in-Charge, Parish of Guildford
My husband Jonathan Holgate and I have been attending Yongah Hill Immigration Detention Centre (YHIDC) in Northam for just over ten years. Security is high and we have been grateful that the Immigration Deptartment have permitted us to attend, officiate and share in Communion with those who wish to attend church. Sadly, the length of time spent in detention at YHIDC ranges from six days to 4,726 days (nearly 13 years). The Commonwealth Ombudsman and Commonwealth NPM have repeatedly made recommendations about reducing the amount of time people remain in immigration detention.
We have known some of the men in detention for all of those ten years and heartening relationships have been formed. The Latin root of Communion is ‘communionem’, meaning ‘fellowship, mutual participation, or sharing.’ Another way to think about this is to be in ‘common-union’. By the grace of God we have been given an opportunity to show the love of Christ at a very challenging time in the detainees lives. As you can imagine morale can be low: a sense of grief and loss with no resources in a situation that seems impossible to change, no finances and only limited pro-bono lawyers on offer. Our visits offer hope and encouragement.
We meet in dongas and it is always good to spend time listening to how the detainees’ week has been. Sadly, and very often one of our members replies ‘same, same’, which often reflects how the others are also feeling. We gather with nationalities from many different countries, and we have bibles in various languages. Our bible studies and Communion Service offers valuable opportunities to enhance their English reading skill. Most of the men prefer to read the English translation, asking questions about the meaning of words. Singing is a highlight, and the men raise the roof with their singing of contemporary Christian songs, many of their own choice.
We have found the Third Order of the APBA on page 168 to work well in our context. We start our time together with worship and prayer. Our bible readings are based on the bible study we are doing at the time, and our discussion and exploration of the scriptures serve as our sermon time with many questions and engagement by those gathered within the limited time we have together and very often the support staff join in. We find the Apostle’s Creed is more easily understood, given that all our attendees have limited English. Our Bible study and prayer time is very focused on the hope we have in Jesus Christ and their dreams of being granted a visa, being released into community, and reunited with their family and friends.
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As you can see from the photograph above, our communion set is wooden, as we are not permitted to take any metal items in. The bibles are in large print, and provided by Prison Fellowship and each attendee is given a bible to keep.
This truly is ‘The Great Thanksgiving’; the men join in with faithful confidence during the responses and are so grateful for the time we are able to spend with them, which is mutual. Many refugees are uniquely vulnerable individuals who have fled persecution and horrific circumstances, our biblical faith compels us to respond to their plight with compassion and hospitality. Whilst we are from many different walks of life, we are united by our faith in Jesus Christ. The love of Christ has no language barriers and we walk together by the grace of God.
‘The Lord watches over the foreigner, and sustains the fatherless and the widow.’
Psalm 146:9