SCARGILL House has been buzzing all summer! We’ve hosted a Finnish confirmation group, an international youth conference and then topped it off with three weeks of Summerfest, a summer holiday with lots of fun, games, concerts and chat shows.

It’s great fun to open our home to all these groups, to meet friends old and new. It challenges us to meet people who are different from us, to swap some of our life stories, to have fun and to disagree!

A few months ago a group of refugees came to Scargill House for a short break. As I sat at the table and shared food these young women told me about some of the difficult situations they had escaped from. They had left their families and seen their homes destroyed. Some of them didn’t know what had happened to their close relatives.

I tried to imagine what it was like for them, but it was too difficult. I have lived in a safe country all my life. They were overwhelmed by the kindness of strangers here, where they are able to live securely and continue their education.

Our national news has been dominated by the theme of hospitality in recent weeks as we are challenged to open our doors to "the stranger". I recognise that I am more privileged than most of the world’s population to live in a wealthy country. Jesus spent his early years in Egypt as an undocumented refugee. I reckon we still have a lot to learn from his conversation about what makes a good neighbour. He says "the one who shows mercy".

I’m wondering if we can find it in ourselves to be welcoming to those whose lives tell very different stories from ours?

The Rev Jackie Reily

Chaplain, Scargill House, Kettlewell