We have been both privileged to get to know, and humbled by the many Ukrainians who visited St John’s during 2022 & 2023.
In May 2022, a few weeks after Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, we opened our doors each week to offer hospitality to Ukrainian refugees who had begun to arrive in Chelmsford, and to the hosts who had opened their homes to them. St John’s was to be a safe place where people could share experiences, offer mutual support, and get to know each other, as initially neither the guests nor the hosts knew other people in the same situation.
In the following 1½ years we were privileged to see the Ukrainian guests master the language, find their way through the UK’s many systems, and establish themselves here, making friends, finding jobs and settling into new homes in a very different country. Equally we were delighted to see local hosts finding others doing the same thing locally, and both learning from and supporting others.
We merely offered a warm welcome, hospitality and some information. But the church has been greatly blessed through the experience, and Ukrainians are still welcome to seek support or information when we are open on Sunday, Monday and Thursday mornings. Information for Ukrainian refugees can now be found at https://streetsupport.net/chelmsford/support-for-ukrainian-refugees.pdf.
Refugees and asylum seekers from all parts of the world are always welcome at St John’s, and we are happy to offer both friendship and opportunities to practice speaking English at our JubiLatte cafe on Monday and Thursday mornings.