Refugee Week (15 – 21 June 2026) is the world’s largest arts and culture festival celebrating the contributions, creativity and resilience of refugees and people seeking sanctuary. It includes World Refugee Day on 20th June, and Sanctuary Sunday on 21st June.

“We hope that Refugee Week will strengthen Quakers’ determination to stand up against the immigration and asylum policies of this government. Their deliberate cruelty is causing anguish and despair on a scale never seen before in this country.”

Quaker Asylum and Refugee Network (QARN)

Quaker Meetings are encouraged to discern something they can do to stand with people seeking asylum in an increasingly hostile environment.

This could be as simple as displaying QARN leaflets or Quaker posters such as “This is not a migrant crisis”, holding worship focused on sanctuary, connecting with local refugee groups, or organising a discussion on hospitality. There are resources for Sanctuary Sunday from Churches Together in Britain & Ireland.

Our project Peace Hub has organised a Film Night with Birmingham City of Sanctuary on 18th June, and there is a Welcome Walk on 20th June, where we will carry our banner (pictured above) ending at a Celebrating Sanctuary event at the MAC. Contact Peace Hub for more details of any of these events: office@peacehub.org.uk / 07718937156.

If your Meeting is doing something, or there are activities you know of in other parts of our region that Friends could join in with, please let us know: website@ceaqm.org.uk