Just Welby: Archbishop of Canterbury praises volunteers helping refugees in Christmas sermon

Justin Welby will praise people welcoming and helping refugees during his sermon at Canterbury Cathedral.
The Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Reverend Justin Welby, will be making his Christmas sermon at Canterbury Cathedral (Stefan Rousseau/PA)
PA Wire
Catherine Lough25 December 2021

The Archbishop of Canterbury used his Christmas sermon to preach a message of support to volunteers helping refugees, adding that “the Christmas story shows us how we must treat those who are unlike us”.

The Most Rev Justin Welby who preached the sermon at the Christmas Day Eucharist at Canterbury Cathedral at 11am, said that the Christmas story of Joseph and Mary searching for shelter demonstrates the need to treat those “who have far less than us, who have lived with the devastating limits of war and national tragedy – those who risk everything to arrive on the beaches” with compassion.

He said “there is no doubting” the human capacity to show “great kindness”, and that volunteers working to welcome refugees arriving on beaches close to Canterbury Cathedral are “amazing people”.

Mr Welby praised rescuers such as the crews of the RNLI and the Border Patrol cutters’ crews in his sermon.

We all face uncertainty, uncontrollability and unpredictability, from Sage and Cabinet to each one of us, from huge companies to those sleeping rough

Archbishop of Canterbury

He also paid tribute to those volunteering at food banks over the festive period and “other places of comfort and help” which “show this country at its best” and embody the saying, “it’s not about me”.

Mr Welby referenced the way in which the pandemic experience has forced people to confront their “fragility” as never before.

“We all face uncertainty, uncontrollability and unpredictability, from Sage and Cabinet to each one of us, from huge companies to those sleeping rough,” he is expected to say.

The sermon was made available to live stream from Canterbury Cathedral’s website, and the final text of the sermon has been published on the Archbishop of Canterbury’s website.

Mr Welby recently framed vaccination in the pandemic as a moral issue, and said that getting the jab reduces the chances of illness being spread, adding, “it’s not about me and my rights to choose – it’s about how I love my neighbour”.

He said that the Queen 95, who cancelled the traditional pre-Christmas lunch with her extended family and will spend Christmas Day at Windsor rather than Sandringham, had set “the example to follow”.

Mr Welby told ITV News at Ten that he felt “real disappointment and sadness” when he saw the photograph of Downing Street staff eating cheese and drinking wine in the No 10 garden during the first lockdown.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in