#publisher alternate (BUTTON) Close Skip to main content sign in * Saved for later * Comment activity * Edit profile * Email preferences * Change password * Sign out subscribe search dating more from the guardian: * dating * jobs change edition: * switch to the UK edition switch to the US edition switch to the AU edition International * switch to the UK edition * switch to the US edition * switch to the Australia edition The Guardian * home * › world * europe * US * americas * asia * australia * africa * middle east * cities * development * home * UK * world selected * sport * football * opinion * culture * business * lifestyle * fashion * environment * tech * travel browse all sections close Refugees The Observer The bishops’ letter to David Cameron: refugee crisis ‘calls all of us to play our parts’ Government urged to show ‘meaningful and substantial response’ by accepting 50,000 people over the next five years An overwhelming majority of Church of England bishops signed the letter to the prime minister. An overwhelming majority of Church of England bishops signed the letter to the prime minister. Photograph: Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images Saturday 17 October 2015 21.09 BST Last modified on Wednesday 28 October 2015 14.13 GMT * Share on Facebook * Share on Twitter * Share via Email * Share on Pinterest * Share on LinkedIn * Share on Google+ * Share on WhatsApp This article is 3 months old Dear prime minister, Like you, your government and the people of our nation, we are deeply concerned for the refugee crisis that we have to face together. We are grateful to you and your ministers for the conversations they have already held with the archbishop of Canterbury and others around these issues. We pray for the millions of people fleeing war and violence in one of the largest refugee crises ever recorded, and we remember those who have tragically died seeking sanctuary on European shores: those like Alan Kurdi, the three-year-old boy who heartbreakingly died and was washed up on a beach in Turkey. It is a command in Judaism to “welcome and love the stranger as you would yourself because you were strangers in the land of Egypt”. Followers of Islam are obliged to provide food, shelter and safety to the traveller. Christ himself and his family were refugees at one point. We are reminded that in the crypt of Canterbury cathedral there is a 17th-century notice which pays tribute to “the large and liberal spirit of the English church and the glorious asylum which England has in all times given to foreigners flying for refuge against oppression and tyranny”. Such traditions and prayers must be joined with action. A moral crisis of this magnitude calls each and all of us to play our parts. We recognise and applaud the leadership you and your government are showing in this crisis, both as one of the world’s top international donors and in the recent announcement that the government will resettle 20,000 people over the next five years. We stand ready to play our part as well. We will: 1. Encourage our church members to work alongside the wider community in offering support to all refugees who come. 2. Encourage, where possible and feasible, churches, congregations and individuals to make rental properties and spare housing available for use by resettled refugees. 3. Promote and support foster-caring among churches, congregations and individuals where appropriate to help find the homes needed to care for the increasing number of unaccompanied minors. 4. Pray for, act with and stand alongside your government, to rise to the challenge that this crisis poses to our shared humanity. From what we see in congregations across the United Kingdom we are confident that the country stands ready and willing to support the government to be even more ambitious as it responds to this historic crisis. We believe such is this country’s great tradition of sanctuary and generosity of spirit that we could feasibly resettle at least 10,000 people a year for the next two years, rising to a minimum of 50,000 in total over the five-year period you foresaw in your announcement. Such a number would bring us into line with comparable commitments made by other countries. It would be a meaningful and substantial response to the scale of human suffering we see daily. We believe that should a National Welcome and Resettlement Board be established in response to the crisis, drawing together civic, corporate and government leadership to coordinate efforts and mobilise the nation as in times past, such an effort would not be beyond the British people. A senior bishop would gladly serve on such a board on our behalf and at your pleasure. This letter is written to you privately at present. The College of Bishops meets in Oxford next week and will spend some time considering our practical response. If you were able to respond to me ahead of that date it would help our discussions. __________________________________________________________________ More news Topics * Refugees * Religion __________________________________________________________________ * Share on Facebook * Share on Twitter * Share via Email * Share on Pinterest * Share on LinkedIn * Share on Google+ * Share on WhatsApp * Reuse this content more on this story * Bishops in stinging rebuke to David Cameron over refugee crisis Clergy release text of private letter sent in September as it emerges that PM snubbed church’s offer of help Published: 17 Oct 2015 (BUTTON) Bishops in stinging rebuke to David Cameron over refugee crisis * Asylum seekers face eviction four weeks after being allowed to stay in Britain Published: 17 Oct 2015 (BUTTON) Asylum seekers face eviction four weeks after being allowed to stay in Britain * How the Church of England and the British government fell out over the ‘moral crisis’ of refugees Published: 18 Oct 2015 (BUTTON) How the Church of England and the British government fell out over the ‘moral crisis’ of refugees popular The Guardian back to top * home * UK * world selected * sport * football * opinion * culture * business * lifestyle * fashion * environment * tech * travel all sections close * home * UK + education + media + society + law + scotland + wales + northern ireland * world selected + europe + US + americas + asia + australia + africa + middle east + cities + development * sport + football + cricket + rugby union + F1 + tennis + golf + cycling + boxing + racing + rugby league * football + live scores + tables + competitions + results + fixtures + clubs * opinion + columnists * culture + film + tv & radio + music + games + books + art & design + stage + classical * business + economics + banking + retail + markets + eurozone * lifestyle + food + health & fitness + love & sex + family + women + home & garden * fashion * environment + climate change + wildlife + energy + pollution * tech * travel + UK + europe + US + skiing * money + property + savings + pensions + borrowing + careers * science * professional networks * the observer * today's paper + editorials & letters + obituaries + g2 + weekend + the guide + saturday review * sunday's paper + comment + the new review + observer magazine * membership * crosswords + blog + editor + quick + cryptic + prize + quiptic + genius + speedy + everyman + azed * video * World * › Refugees IFRAME: /email/form/footer/37 * Facebook * Twitter * Facebook * Twitter * all topics * all contributors * solve technical issue * complaints & corrections * terms & conditions * privacy policy * cookie policy * securedrop © 2016 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. 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