About 30 people have attended a vigil, supporting sanctuary for refugees.
Redlands for Refugees coordinator David Busch said the vigil included prayers, songs, candle-lighting and commitments to the protection of vulnerable people.
The vigil was held at St James Lutheran Church, Cleveland, and was part of the national #Sanctuary and #LetThemStay movement for refugees.
“More than 100 churches from nine denominations and more than 20 mosques across Australia have declared themselves places of sanctuary for refugees who are in Australia but face being returned to detention centres on Nauru or Manus Island,’’ Pastor Busch said.
“Most of these refugees, including 37 babies and 54 children, had come to Australia from Nauru or Manus Island in recent months for medical treatment but their forced return was in doubt due to a High Court challenge on the legality of Australia’s offshore detention regime.
“That challenge was rejected by a majority verdict of the court on February 2.’’
Pastor Busch said the court’s judgement sparked a national movement, calling on the Federal Government to let these people stay.
“Places of worship began declaring themselves as sanctuaries offering to protect refugees from being removed from Australia,’’ he said.
“I’m not aware that any church in the Redlands has declared itself as a place of sanctuary, and because probably none of the affected refugees are living here there is no practical need for local churches to take this step.
“However, we wanted to express our support for those churches that have taken this step, and for the national movement against returning these people to offshore detention.”
About 30 people attended the vigil, which included prayers, songs, candle-lighting and commitments to the protection of vulnerable people.