Sanctuary Sunday, and weekly
Date Posted: Jun 15, 2026.
Imagine being one of the 264,000 refugees having fled the Ukraine for the UK since 2022. You’re not a number, you’re a person with a name, a family, friends, a job, culture, now all lost.
You’re trying to get to a GP but can’t understand the train tannoy, and miss the stop. You finally get there, only to find the translator can’t be found. You go home to your incredible sponsors and make sure your children aren’t making too much noise, that you aren’t taking up too much space. You turn off the news that night, but still have nightmares about what you see and hear about the front line, on the doorstep of your old home.
But you’re determined to make a go of it in your new home. Where to start, and how to carry on?
As early as 2022 North Birmingham 4 Ukraine formed to support Ukrainian refugees and hosts living in north Birmingham. They run ESOL sessions and well-being activities, and support refugees moving from their hosts into living independently.
In partnership with North Birmingham 4 Ukraine, and with funding from CUF’s Near Neighbours network, Holy Trinity Sutton Coldfield host sessions bringing together men from the local community with men from the Ukraine.
Why bring together refugees and local people?
They identified a lack of activities that give men the opportunity to speak in a safe space and to explore the issues that are pertinent to them. This developed into a positive and supportive group bringing together around 25 men to:
- Build deep, trusting relationships across ethnic, cultural and faith differences
- Support wellbeing and mental health, especially for recently displaced Ukrainian men
- Increase confidence navigating Birmingham’s multicultural environment
- Foster long-term cross-community friendships and natural sustainability
Why focus on Ukrainian men?
Curate Matt Mason learned that among Ukrainian families placed locally, men were often finding it much harder to integrate than women. Many were finding it difficult to find their place in Birmingham’s community life.
He said: “As a parish, we felt we could help local people begin to understand what these men are carrying, and offer something of the love, care, and support they weren’t finding elsewhere, reaching out to meet the needs of those on the margins of our community, where people are so easily overlooked.
“We brought together volunteers from across our churches, as well as through wider advertising, which gave us a healthy mix of people and perspectives. For those in our congregations, it’s been a powerful way of bearing witness, meeting strangers in our midst, hearing their stories, and building genuine friendships.”
The group gather around a meal table, and walk, finding that sharing a meal or walking side by side makes conversation easier, especially for some of the quieter church members.
They all gently navigate cultural differences, learning that cooking isn’t typically something the Ukrainian men would do, that talking about emotions doesn’t always come easily, and that the British habit of frequently saying ‘sorry’ is quite amusing, as well as our deep affection for a good queue. The Ukrainian men value the opportunity to practise their conversational English, which they say is crucial for societal integration and employment.
People are becoming more outward looking, more intentionally mission minded
Revd Matt can see the programme changing him and the church, as well as supporting the Ukrainian men: “In many ways, it’s held up a mirror to the Gospels for us, helping us see more clearly what it means to serve, and to bring the love of God into focus, one person at a time. I think it’s shifted something in us too, people are becoming more outward looking, more intentionally mission minded.”
He noticed a quiet, reserved church member who had never volunteered for anything like this before step forward, completely out of his comfort zone: “Watching him grow into it was beautiful. I saw real joy in him, new friendships forming, and a gift for hospitality emerging that perhaps even he didn’t know was there.
“It’s changed me as well. Like anyone in ministry, it’s easy to get caught up in emails, tasks, and the immediate demands of church life. But this has been more than a project. It has been an encounter with Christ through serving and drawing alongside others, and a reminder, or perhaps a recentring, of what it means to be a man of God out in the world, attentive to what’s happening beyond the walls of the church.
But Revd Matt isn’t one to gloss over the difficult realities: “It hasn’t all been straightforward. Birmingham is a very diverse city, much more so than many parts of Ukraine, but this is Birmingham, and we’re proud of that diversity. For me, it reflects something of the Kingdom of God, people of every background, held together.
“The men have expressed an interest in visiting local churches and mosques, to better understand what it means to live here, to be part of this city.”
Back to the numbers…
Sutton Coldfield: Holy Trinity, Diocese of Birmingham
The population of this parish is 11,079. It ranks 10,846 out of 12,154, where 1 is the most deprived parish.
This parish |
National |
|
Life expectancy, men |
83yrs |
Highest: 91yrs |
People living on their own |
31% |
Least: 10.8% |
Working age poverty |
10% |
Least: 2% |