“Not Christ-Like”: Belfast Church Leaders Close Offices and Cancel Events as Anti-Immigrant Violence Erupts—Evangelical Alliance Pleads for Hope

BELFAST – The streets of Northern Ireland’s capital are burning again, but this time the sectarian lines are drawn not by history, but by hatred of the stranger. After a 30-year-old Sudanese refugee, Hadi Alodid, was remanded in custody charged with the attempted murder of Stephen Ogilvie in a knife attack, anti-immigration demonstrations spiraled into fiery chaos Tuesday evening—homes and vehicles set alight, communities terrorized. Now the church is shutting its doors early. The Evangelical Alliance and Presbyterian Church offices were forced to close Wednesday afternoon amid threats of further violence, and the installation of Rev Dr Richard Kerr as moderator of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland has been postponed until Thursday. The General Assembly was adjourned as bus and train services suspended. “Our first response must be motivated by God’s first response towards us, seeing us as made in his image, moving towards us in love,” said David Smyth, head of the Evangelical Alliance in Northern Ireland, as staff evacuated their office at lunchtime.

While condemning the original knife attack, church leaders have reserved their sharpest words for the mob’s response. Rt Rev Dr Richard Murray, the current moderator, said he was “appalled” by the riots and commended police and emergency services for protecting people and property. But Smyth went further, challenging Christians to look inward: “We need to lead courageously, create spaces to air conversations that might be difficult, or awkward, or sensitive. But also speak to our own communities where attitudes and actions are just not Christ-like.” He urged the church to stand with those attacked because of their race or background, insisting that Christians can debate immigration policy without losing sight of “the people who have immense human dignity, who are right in front of us, whose hearts are breaking right now.” As Belfast braces for another night of potential fire, the church’s witness hangs in the balance: will it be a sanctuary of costly welcome, or just another building shuttered in fear?