REFUGEE WEEK DAY ONE 20.06.22 - THE COMMUNITY TABLE IN BRISTOL

The Community Table at Redland Church has now begun and today was our third session. Last week we were pleased to have been able to welcome recently arrived families from Ukraine with children of all ages, hosts from the local community, and artists who regularly attend the church.

Chairs were squeezed around the table to provide space for everyone who joined the group. New connections were made, information exchanged, and through little gaps in our language differences we noticed words of support and encouragement.

The energy ebbed and flowed, with moments of absorption or sharp focus, to energy being released by creating tracks for running around the tables and maps.

At the end of the session several people took their images with them, something as a charity we don’t often witness. The relative stability offered by the resettlement scheme perhaps means that making hopeful spaces of belonging is for now a possibility.

Sarah Robinson, Emma Lunt, Helen Patuck