Letter: An Advent service meal is held to welcome newcomers to Northern Ireland

It is beyond doubt that we are living in difficult times.

There is a cost of living crisis and there are conflicts in Ukraine, Israel/Gaza and Sudan to name a few. People are afraid and uncertain, and not without reason.

In times like this it is easy to turn in on ourselves and worry about our own situation .This is understandable. However in Drumbeg Parish Church we believe that there is a need to look beyond ourselves and participate in a shared experience with people who live within a matrix unimaginably different than most people who will read this letter. To that end we have been involved in an initiative to welcome some of these people to our church and enjoy making friends with them.

Yesterday we hosted an Advent Carol service for migrants, asylum seekers and people newly arrived in Northern Ireland, followed by a Middle Eastern style meal.

The UK government with its obsession around the issue of immigration seems to view these people as a problem. I feel sorry for them and their deeply limited world view.

These people represent not a problem but the opportunity for a different and very radical shared future here in Northern Ireland, way beyond what was even imagined by those who framed The Good Friday Agreement.

We need to embrace this with open arms.

Nigel Quinn, Drumbeg