The congregation at St Columba's Scottish Church in Budapest have opened their doors and welcomed men, woman and children from countries including Syria and Afghanistan.

The Church has 175 years of experience working with people from different faith traditions and the Scottish Mission used to run a primary school for Christian and Jewish children.

Jane Haining, the only Scot to be officially honoured for giving her life to help protect Jewish schoolgirls in the Holocaust, was the matron at the boarding school from 1932 until her death in the Auschwitz concentration camp in 1944.

The church is a partner supporter of a charity called Kalunba which helps people to secure housing and provides a supportive, loving, and compassionate social/support environment with access to education opportunities such as Hungarian language lessons and job training.

Carol Finlay, twinning and local development secretary of the Kirk’s World Mission Council, attended the 175th anniversary celebrations.

She said:  “Sitting in the office of Kalunba last week, hearing first-hand the stories of some of the clients was extremely moving.

“It is a privilege to be allowed to share the pain of people who have had to flee their own country, leaving behind family members and all the roots of their life.

“It was great to hear from more than one of the clients about the important part St Columba’s Church of Scotland in Budapest plays in the life of individuals and the whole organisation, as a place not only of worship but friendship and support through what are often troubling times.”

Church of Scotland staff attended a coffee and homebaking fundraiser event in the Kirk offices in Edinburgh yesterday and raised £200 to assist the Kalunba charity, which was established in 2014.

This article was written by the Church of Scotland communications team. The original piece can be found here.