Love the stranger

You may already know that James is our new CEO - but do you know what led him here?In this episode, Samuel interviews James Lynch, Welcome Churches’ new CEO. They explore the lessons James has learnt - from his involvement in sending aid convoys during the Balkans War, to short-term mission trips, and his work in church outreach and engagement.Listen now to be inspired by the power of unity, the sharing of stories, and the unique blessing that comes through welcome.Visit www.welcomechurches.org to find out more about us. You can find us @welcomechurches on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

How do you hold onto hope when everything has changed?In this episode, Samuel sits down with Maria and Sarah from Thatcham Baptist Church for a deep conversation about resilience, faith, and the quiet power of welcome.Maria shares powerful moments from her journey of seeking refuge in the UK - what she left behind, what she’s found, and the people who made her feel at home. Sarah, a long-time refugee support worker, reflects on what it means to stay hopeful while walking alongside others through grief, change, and rebuilding.Together, they explore how faith motivates and sustains them in their work of welcome - and how churches can become places of true belonging. Tune in for a moving and honest conversation with Maria, Sarah, and Samuel.Visit www.welcomechurches.org to find out more about us. You can find us @welcomechurches on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

Back in late March before her departure from Welcome Churches, Samuel spoke with Emily. In their conversation, they discuss the lessons she learnt whilst at the helm of Welcome Churches, including adapting in response to need, leading sustainably, and her aspirations for the now-national movement of welcome catalysed by the charity.Visit www.welcomechurches.org to find out more about us. You can find us @welcomechurches on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

In this Persian New Year special conversation, Samuel hosts Fatemeh (from Iran, who serves as one of Welcome Churches’ Regional Coordinators), and Jonathan (our Finance and Operations Manager, who lived for an extended period of time in Afghanistan), as well as Daniel, a curate whose work focuses on developing an intercultural Church, and who has doctoral research in Iranian converts’ understandings and experiences of the Eucharist. Together, they chat about Nowruz’s significance across Kurdish, Iranian, and Afghan cultures; the cultural and regional variations across celebrations; the symbolism behind different Nowruz traditions; its origins in ancient Persia; Christianity and Nowruz; memories; the ramifications of contemporary political contexts on festivities; and how you can celebrate it with your friends, here in the UK.Visit www.welcomechurches.org to find out more about us. You can find us @welcomechurches on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

In this Lunar New Year special, Emily talks with Mina, Welcome Churches' Communications Officer who came to the UK from Hong Kong herself.They discuss the modern significance of Lunar New Year - including how the festival is typically celebrated in Hong Kong and how different churches interact with the festival today. They also talk about how you can join in the fun here in the UK too, no matter what your cultural background.Visit www.welcomechurches.org to find out more about us. You can find us @welcomechurches on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

God has reconciled us to Himself, starting with Jesus’ incarnation. Samuel talks about the Church as a new community that represents Christ’s presence and testifies to our forgiveness.  Celebrating our differences and making space for cultural dialogue encourages us to be reconciled to one another in all of our ethnic, cultural, linguistic diversity.  Samuel originally gave this talk at Welcome Churches’ 2024 Welcome Conference: The Road to Restoration.Visit www.welcomechurches.org to find out more about us. You can find us @welcomechurches on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

A prophetic message of hope by Ukrainian church planter and leader, Andrey Bondarenko, specifically for those who have been forcibly displaced, taken from Welcome Churches’ 2024 Welcome Conference: The Road to Restoration, where he was keynote speaker.Andrey encourages sanctuary-seekers to see their circumstances from the perspective of the Author of Salvation, and reveals their role blessing the nations, echoing Abraham, through whom all nations are blessed.He encourages us to cooperate in our communities; to see the opportunity as God turns evil into good; and to be open to receive the special comfort that our Heavenly Father has for the widows, orphans, aliens, and the poor amongst us.Visit www.welcomechurches.org to find out more about us. You can find us @welcomechurches on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

Back in January, Emily chatted with Lucia Boyd, who worked as Welcome Churches’ Refugee Training Officer. Lucia has amassed a wealth of cross-cultural experience, having lived in Uruguay, Venezuela, North America, Hong Kong, and the UK!They delve into the experiences of Central American refugees in the UK - covering the asylum system, cultural etiquette differences and misunderstandings, and Lucia’s own church, where there are many different activities and fellowships on offer for people of Latin American origin.Visit www.welcomechurches.org to find out more about us. You can find us @welcomechurches on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

“A guest always comes with a very sharp pocket knife”.Dr. Harvey Kwiyani - Director of the Acts 11 Project: Centre for Global Witness and Human Migration at Church Mission Society, Oxford - draws on this ancient southern Malawian proverb to argue that our posture dictates whether we interpret our guests as bringing fresh understanding, which can be put to good use - or as having harmful intentions.He says that there are certain conversations, which, if we get them right here, in the UK, it becomes easier to share them as a gift to the world. He and Emily unpack how Christian hospitality has become inescapably intertwined with the politics of migration, and explore the crossover between discussions on racial justice and those surrounding forced displacement.Visit www.welcomechurches.org to find out more about us. You can find us @welcomechurches on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

Samuel and Tim Leese, our COO, speak with Bedford-based church planter and leader, Andrey Bondarenko, from Ukraine.Andrey invites us into his reflections on his unexpected journey to the UK; the process of brokenness and deep repentance for disciples; partnerships in ministry; the rich resources carried by the UK Church; testimonies from Ukraine; and the spontaneity of surrendering to God’s plans, rather than pursuing our own.Visit www.welcomechurches.org to find out more about us. You can find us @welcomechurches on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.