Anglican Churches across Newcastle and the Hunter joined the nationwide #RefugeeBell campaign on Friday 2 November to bring #KidsOffNauru.
Every Friday, churches across the Anglican Diocese of Newcastle will join churches across Australia to ring bells for each of the children remaining on Nauru.
St Eanswythe’s Anglican Church in Altona, in Melbourne’s west, five weeks ago began tolling a bell every Friday for each of the asylum seeker children effectively detained on Nauru because of the Australian government’s offshore regional processing policy. At the first vigil the bell tolled 95 times.
The Rev’d Andrew Eaton, Rector of Wallsend, is one Newcastle Anglican priest calling for the removal of Asylum Seekers from Nauru and Manus Island.
“The ringing of our bells is a small but significant symbol of the growing voice of public opinion against incarcerating children and families on Nauru. People of goodwill all across the country are asking how we allowed this to happen in the first place, and how soon can we close the camps and bring all refugees and asylum seekers to Australia.”
Christ Church Cathedral held a vigil on Friday, which commenced with the tolling of the Cathedral bell. Forster Anglican Church also tolled their bell 38 times, one for each refugee child still on Nauru. Pictured below is Fr Steve Niland, from the Parish of Raymond Terrace, ring the bell at St John The Evangelist Church.
