St Francis of Assisi had an especial love and concern for those who were poor, seeing Christ in them; he himself renounced all possessions and lived without property. From its foundation as a Franciscan friary in 1921, Hilfield has been a place of welcome to those on the margins; for many years this was a place of refuge and rehabilitation for men who were ‘on the road’. The night shelter closed in 2004 but we still have a concern for those in need – particularly at this time those who are refugees, campaigning for a better welcome for them in this country and sometimes being able to offer hospitality. The Franciscan greeting, ‘Peace and all good’, expresses our desire to work for peace and reconciliation and for a more just society in our world today.