A huge thank-you to the writer of this wonderful piece about the concert. One Heart – A Concert for commUNITY

A wonderful night of entertainment was held in the Metropolitan Cathedral on Thursday June 19 th . This was a great follow up to our three speakers – Seana, Ashkan and Alhussain in our two churches the previous weekend who raised awareness of the challenges and journeys many of our asylum seekers and refugees encounter on their way here to find a new home.

The well known, Frank Cotterell Boyce facilitated the evening of music, song, poetry and dance. He gave a very fine introduction emphasising the welcoming city this is and how the people came together last August to give massive support and welcome to our refugees and asylum seekers after the Southport tragedy.

The attendance was in the region of 700-800.

The Asylum Link Choir sang all the way from Hope St to the Cathedral in full voice. No one would ever guess how this group representing about 10 countries had carried such pain with their ‘explosion of joy’, as was recently described. The singers were supported by guitars, flute and drums. The main function of the group is strangely not to promote beautiful music but instead to provide a place to belong, where everyone can bring parts of their previous life and weave its music into the lives of others. We were entertained to a very rich variety of music, some familiar from the Bob Marley era and more from Africa and the Middle East. The songs encompassed Oshiwambo, Swahili, Lingala, French, Spanish, Welsh and snippets from other languages, not to mention Scouse.

The second group who came on stage were ‘The Choir with No Name’. Their vision is that all people going through tough times, find a place to sing their hearts out, among friends. The Choir with No Name empowers people with experience of homelessness and marginalisation to find opportunities to shine, to grow in personal resilience, and to build positive, joyful singing communities. They certainly demonstrated their vision on the night with some very quirky music, giving many members an opportunity to lead in the singing. ‘No one should be defined by homelessness. We are all simply sopranos, altos, tenors and basses. We are all people who love to sing our hearts out.’

Next, we enjoyed the young voices from the Junior Choir from St Edward’s College, Sandfield Park, who embodied the College’s ethos of joy, service and musical excellence. At the heart of the College’s mission is a belief in the power of community and the performance was a celebration of that. Many of them were either present or past members of the Cathedral Choir.

We were then entertained by a student from St Anselm’s College reciting a poem written by a student. It was recited with such passion, eloquence that many in the audience were brought to tears. It was based on racism, culture, behaviour and how easily we label people. We are all human beings, irrespective of race, colour, culture. We certainly enjoyed the natural blending of community groups and audience tonight where many danced and mixed together on this great night. Ann Nicholls, from the Edmund Rice Network thanked everyone for their preparation, performance and participation with the hope that we all continue to build CommUnity across the city, across the globe. The final song was called Bridges Not Walls summed up the spirit of the evening encouraging us all to be proactive in bringing down barriers and creating new welcoming communities.

What a contrast this is to the action on Saturday night June 21st 2025.

This song was composed in the aftermath of the Southport tragedy.

‘Excuse me while I vocalise Bridges not walls

They knock us down but still we rise Bridges not walls.

Sing it loud so they can hear Bridges not walls

Refugees are welcome here’

Other lines from the song :

‘Well I’m using faith and I’m using science’

‘Saying no to silence on UK violence’

‘We won’t listen to their orders’

‘Our queer solidarity smashes borders’

‘People of the earth, listen to me’

‘There is no planet B’ ‘Let’s stand together and defend our rights’

‘What happens next is up to us.’