“I am the Lord, and I consider all people the same, whether they are Israelites or foreigners living among you” – Number 15:16
I was born in Karachi, Pakistan in a family who profess the Christian faith.
Christians in Pakistan are a religious minority at 1.8% of the population.
Growing up, the sense that we were different was very apparent because of our faith. We had different religious celebrations and separate culture and practices compared to the majority. But the difference did not mean isolation.
The Christian community is close-knit and church life was a rich social structure.
It was similar when my family moved to the UK.
As a 16-year-old, a lack of friendships with peers and cultural unfamiliarity was quite depressing. However, my faith allowed me to take part in a year-long discipleship programme before university.
This gave me friends from all sorts of social backgrounds and coaxed me out of my introverted shell.
On reflection, I realise that I have always felt “different”. Both in the place of my birth and the in the land that I have come to adopt as home.
In Pakistan, I was a religious minority, in the UK, I am an ethnic minority who looks and sounds different.
But I am grateful to Jesus, the Head of a global church which is His body. I have always found a place to belong, no matter where I reside.
Flavia is a member of King’s Church Wokingham, writing on behalf of Churches Together in Wokingham
