Winchester City of Sanctuary

20/03/2026

Nowruz Mobarak to our community that celebrate Nowruz and to people all around the world that celebrate.

Meaning “new day”, Nowruz is a 3,000-year-old celebration of life and the triumph of light over darkness. It marks renewal and new beginnings.

This is no doubt a difficult time for people living in Iran and many of those celebrating Nowruz, the Persian New Year. And while Nowruz may signal pain and grief this year, we hope that it also brings peace and remains a symbol of unity and community.

20/03/2026

Do pop along to this fantastic art exhibition at St Paul's & St Matthew's churches, Wi******er, tomorrow, more details in the post below.

20/03/2026

Eid Mubarak to all who celebrate.

Thank you to Hampshire Libraries which are all Libraries of Sanctuary for all you do to support and celebrate with your local community.

If you are interested in learning more about Eid the Books Trust also has some wonderful books recommended about Ramadan and Eid, available here https://www.booktrust.org.uk/book-recommendations/booklists/books-about-ramadan-and-eid/

Eid Mubarak!

Find titles about Eid on our catalogue: https://hampshire.spydus.co.uk/cgi-bin/spydus.exe/ENQ/WPAC/BIBENQ?ENTRY1_NAME=TI&ENTRY1=eid&ENTRY1_TYPE=K&ENTRY2_NAME=AU&ENTRY2=&ENTRY2_TYPE=K&NRECS=20&SORTS=HBT.SOVR

06/03/2026

Lovely to see people brought together to share friendship, connection and peace in our local community. Ramadan Mubarak ******erMuslimCulturalAssociation ******erUkrainianCulturalAssociation ******erCathedral

05/03/2026

A wonderful addition to Wi******er - 2Tees Afro Caribbean Foods. We welcome your new store to Wi******er and congratulate you on your opening and expansion and look forward to visiting soon.

05/03/2026

We are deeply concerned by the continued erosion of protection and safety afforded to refugees by the UK government with their recent move to temporary refugee status, reducing leave to 30 months.

States should take positive steps towards protection but there is nothing positive about a reduction in a sense of safety and security. This move is the opposite of sanctuary.

Temporary leave adds to a climate of instability, uncertainty and every increasing hostility towards people seeking sanctuary. Everyone has the right to claim asylum.

The absence of safe routes to the UK increases vulnerability and compounds precarity leaving refugees in a cycle of limbo only increases their vulnerability to abuse, exploitation and creates barriers to integration. The focus should be on people that take advantage of people fleeing conflict, persecution and violence not on the people seeking sanctuary who have already faced so much adversity.

We ask all to stand up for the right to seek asylum and encourage you to advocate for more compassion towards people seeking asylum and refugees. Becoming a refugee is never a choice. We encourage you all to share facts about sanctuary. What we see in the press can be so misleading. Share facts to counter the myths we increasingly see. Stand up for sanctuary.
******erCityofSanctuary

27/02/2026

The Meet & Greet for refugees and people seeking asylum, and their family and friends, will be running at United Church, Wi******er tomorrow (Saturday), from 10am till 12.00.

Visit for refreshments and a space to chat, relax and connect with others.

There is a playroom available for children; table tennis and table football.

United Church look forward to welcoming you

27/02/2026

Donate today to Wi******er City of Sanctuary to support us to embed sanctuary in our local community and provide more support to people seeking sanctuary.

We would like to support more volunteers with Lived Experience in volunteer placements but we need funds to support them with training and travel costs. Please support us to support people seeking sanctuary. Please donate via our Justgiving page https://www.justgiving.com/charity/winchestercityofsanctuary

Donate today to support Wi******er City of Sanctuary in our movement of welcome.

We have plans for local events and activities but we need your support to help our network to grow and go from strength to strength.

We are very fortunate to have community groups, sanctuary spaces, schools, libraries and theatres of sanctuary in Wi******er already but there is much more needed to provide support, dignity and welcome to people seeking sanctuary locally. Please consider making a one-off donation or becoming a regular donor to Wi******er City of Sanctuary.

A little can go a long way. Follow this link to donate https://winchester.cityofsanctuary.org/support-us/donations

Thank you in advance!
******ercityofsanctuary

27/02/2026

If you missed the wonderful Chinese New Year celebrations in Wi******er recently then you may want to celebrate Chinese New Year in Southampton this weekend. See more details below about activities and events you can join in Southampton this weekend.

27/02/2026

PSC Southampton are hosting a community Iftar this Saturday, 28th February 2026. If you would like to attend you can register for a free ticket in the link in the post below.

Our friends over at PSC Southampton are hosting a community iftar event this Saturday, a nice way to bring people together to take part in Ramadan.

If you want to get a free ticket, sign up here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/psc-southampton-ramadan-iftar-event-2026-tickets-1982051161379

27/02/2026

Libraries provide lifelines to our whole local community. We are very grateful for all the support that our local Library of Sanctuary provides to people seeking sanctuary and to everyone else in our community.

We are fortunate to have a local library that is a welcome and warm space for all that prides itself on inclusion for all. An intergenerational space where strangers can become friends and where families and friends can meet. A free and safe space to people from all over the world that enriches culture and communities and that leads by example in actively valuing diversity and inclusion in practice.

Thank you to Hampshire Libraries, Wi******er Library and to Hampshire Cultural Trust for all you do to make Wi******er a more welcoming space and that contributes to culture and communities in Hampshire. ******erLibrary ******erCityofSanctuary

Party withdraws all Lancashire libraries from City of Sanctuary UK programme that supports new arrivals to UK

27/02/2026

We know that some of our Afghan community may be concerned about loved ones this morning given events overnight. If you need support finding missing family members then you can contact the Red Cross family tracing service for assistance and support. See

Learn how the Red Cross can help find people who have been separated from you by war, natural disaster or migration.