THE General Synod voted on Sunday afternoon to proceed resourcing, collecting data for, and monitoring progress in, the Church’s racial-justice initiatives.
The Bishop of Dover, the Rt Revd Rose Hudson-Wilkin, introduced the motion, which commended the outcomes of From Lament to Action: a report from the Archbishops’ Anti-Racism Taskforce, published three years ago (News, 22 April 2021). The motion also called for further work to be done, and requested the Archbishops’ Council to be certain that “effective structures” existed to take forward the work of the Racial Justice Commission, which ends in November.
Bishop Hudson-Wilkin had seen the word “woke” bandied about in relation to racial justice, but its use was at all times incorrect, she said. The word had emerged amongst Black communities, and referred to the should be socially aware. “As the people of God, we should always never be afraid or embarrassed to be called an Advent people: at all times within the business of preparing, and staying alert.”
The racial-justice mandate didn’t flow from “identity politics”, she said, however the Christian identity. The Church must due to this fact proceed in its work “embedding racial justice in any respect levels”, she said. “Lip service is not going to do, nor will ticking boxes.”
This would take resources, she said, and the representation of individuals of global-majority heritage in senior positions within the Church: there have been few amongst diocesan bishops, or diocesan secretaries. Such reflections of diversity were vital, she said, so that every one children and young people would know that “this Church belongs to them.”
Geoff Crawford/Church TimesThe Bishop of Dover, the Rt Revd Rose Hudson-Wilkin
The Revd Sarah Siddique Gill (Blackburn) said that “remarkable progress” on racial justice had been made in Blackburn diocese. “God doesn’t show partiality,” she said, but there have been some within the Church who did resist efforts to dismantle racism, they usually needed difficult out of their ignorance. She still experienced “shock” when visiting monochrome parishes, where people couldn’t imagine that a girl from Pakistan may very well be a C of E priest.
The Dean of Manchester, the Very Revd Rogers Govender, said that faith in Jesus needed to be lived out in community and in relationships. “Working for racial inclusion and equality is love in motion; we cannot escape that as followers in Christ.” Despite the welcome addition of more ethnic-minority suffragan bishops, there have been still far too few deans and diocesans. There was not enough “intentionality” in appointments processes, he suggested. The Committee for Minority Ethnic Anglican Concerns had at all times been underfunded, and he raised concerns concerning the way forward for the Racial Justice Unit, on condition that the Archbishops’ Commission for Racial Justice finished its term next 12 months. He asked whether worship on the Synod could reflect the variety of worship in ethnic minority-led parishes, to create more visibility.
The Archbishop of York said that it was vital to be honest concerning the past, and never be fearful about trying to the long run. This was equally true for safeguarding, the history of slavery, or many other things on the Synod’s agenda. Racial justice was concerning the Kingdom of God, and have to be a “journey for all of us”, he said. “Racial justice is everybody’s business since it’s about who we’re in Christ.”
He welcomed the report and motion, and called for further research to grasp which strategies worked, and which didn’t. “Do not be complacent: there continues to be so far more we are able to do.” He led the Synod in applause for Lord Boateng, who chairs the Racial Justice Commission, for pushing the Church to motion. The Church was not truly catholic while it remained white by default, he concluded.
The Dean of the Arches and Auditor, the Rt Worshipful Morag Ellis KC, said that the report showed how far short the Church had fallen in “Christ’s way of treating all people made within the image of God, no matter color”. Better data collection was needed to know the baseline, then assess progress. More visibility of ethnic-minority ecclesiastical judges had been built into the web site to spice up applications from diverse candidates to develop into chancellors, she said.
The Bishop of Dudley, the Rt Revd Martin Gorick (Southern Suffragans), said that the facts of past injustice couldn’t be modified, but that he could “change lament into motion”. Progress had been made, but there was much further to go. “We need assistance to alter the long run,” he said, and highlighted collaboration between dioceses and the provision of national grants.
Daniel Matovu (Oxford), a recent member of CMEAC, said that “you white folks do not know” of the experience of racial injustice. He spoke of being the one Black person in lots of institutions throughout his life, from schools to barristers’ chambers, and said that institutional racism was “embedded” within the “life and culture of the Church”. When it got here to racial justice, there was no probability of the Church’s being accused of being too hasty, he said. Despite the recommendations for motion contained in quite a few reports, nothing had been done, he said: a “shameful” state of affairs. There was no lead bishop for racial justice, he said, and this showed a scarcity of seriousness about taking motion.
Geoff Crawford/Church TimesBishop Mike Royal (Churches Together in England)
Bishop Mike Royal (Churches Together in England) said that leaders in his own Pentecostal tradition took a risk within the Nineteen Nineties by calling him, aged 25, into pastoral ministry, to serve in a mostly white northern post-industrial community. People involved in selecting leaders “sometimes hold attitudes of prejudice”, he said, especially in presuming that ethnic-minority ministers couldn’t lead white-majority churches. He urged the Church to challenge attitudes and be open to challege.
Rosemary Wilson (Southwark) had been surprised what number of ethnic-minority clergy were self-supporting ministers, she said, but found that official data on the ethnicity of the clergy had not been collected by the C of E. She asked for this to be done. Many of her clan still reported that Christianity was not an option for them, because they didn’t see brown and black faces represented in its culture.
In a maiden speech supporting the motion, Prebendary Sandra McCalla (co-opted, Convocation of Canterbury) said: “The work has just begun,” and focused on the theological imperative of continuous such work. “All believers are one in Christ,” she said.
The Revd Andrew Mumby (Southwark) asked Synod members how they felt concerning the color of their skin. “Perhaps you simply don’t feel anything,” he said, “should you grew up in a spot where the color of everyone’s skin was similar to yours. Perhaps it’s for white people to take the lead in dismantling the structures of racism we see throughout us.”
David Hermitt (co-opted) said that “transforming unjust structures” was certainly one of the Five Marks of Mission. As a former head teacher, he knew the challenge of balancing education for mixed classes of white and ethnic-minority children. “Our children are rejecting the Church because they’re more radical than we’re in calling out the hypocrisy,” he said. Unless the C of E began with racial justice in schools, it will not see this filter through to adult congregations. He urged members to enact the recommendations referring to education within the report From Lament to Action.
The Revd Rachel Webbley (Canterbury) said that even “good people” could perpetuate racism since it was a systemic structure. Uncovering the history of brutality against black and brown people should provoke repentance within the Church, she said. Describing herself as a “recovering racist”, she urged white members to be unflinching in admitting their very own complicity in prejudice and discrimination.
Nadine Daniel (Liverpool) said that anti-slavery efforts were vital, even today, and that the legacy of slavery was embedded in every parish church.
Busola Sodeinde (London) commended the efforts of the Racial Justice Unit, and hailed the greater diversity and representation led to within the transformation of her own church, Holy Trinity, Brompton. “I even have seen what attractiveness like, Synod,” she said. The C of E was growing rapidly, especially amongst Pentecostal streams, she said. Inclusion was a responsibility for everybody.
As the chair began to call for a motion for the closure, the Bishop of Leicester, the Rt Revd Martyn Snow, on some extent of order, requested that the talk be prolonged in order that every ethnic-minority member who wished to talk could accomplish that.
Geoff Crawford/Church TimesThe Revd Sarah Siddique Gill (Blackburn)
Continuing the talk, the Revd Amatu Christian-Iwuagwu (London) said that individuals on the front line of the climate crisis had mostly been people of color, battling droughts, flooding, rising sea levels, and heatwaves. The mainstream environmental movement was built by individuals who cared about wildlife and trees, but “didn’t care about black people”, he suggested.
The Revd Esther Prior (Guildford) said that she had experienced racism. She recalled the Euro 2020 final, when three black footballers missed penalties for England, and later suffered racial abuse. But this was not what God intended, she said. The cross redeemed the world from racial injustice. She then read from Revelation prophecies, and described “intercultural church” as a “taste of heaven”.
The Revd Christian Selvaratnam (York) said that his city was certainly one of the least diverse places in England, but that this was changing in hopeful ways. There was great potential in recent, younger congregations that were far more racially diverse, he said.
Dawn Brathwaite (Birmingham) warned that change would occur provided that the Church was able to try recent and modern things. A bunch of dioceses within the Midlands had agreed to work together to tackle racism collaboratively across boundaries, which might help with capturing consistent data, she reported.
“For years we’ve been saying it . . . now it’s time to sort it,” the Revd Folli Olokose (Guildford) said. There were good things happening on the bottom, with the muse of organisations comparable to the Anglican Minority Ethnic Network (AMEN), and the Teahouse network for clergy of Chinese heritage. He encouraged members to return to their communities with energy to proceed this work.
Kenson Li (co-opted) said that he had been speaking with fellow ordinands who were of world majority heritage. There was much work to be done within the discernment and training process, he said. “One even told me she felt more marginalised than before she began her ordination training.” Racial justice needs to be addressed right at the beginning of coaching, and ordinands needs to be involved in shaping this response, he said.
Temitope Taiwo (London) echoed Mr Li’s comments about encouraging people from under-represented backgrounds to explore vocations, and highlighted the worth of existing leadership programmes.
Adanna Lazz-Onyenobi (Manchester) said that she was “deeply hurt” that some felt unwelcome in Anglican churches, and urged “each one” to take the spirit of the motion back to their parishes.
The Revd Treena Larkin (Lichfield) said that, in her previous NHS profession, she had been certainly one of many ethnic-minority staff, but had lost confidence in herself after ordination due to Church’s “overwhelming whiteness”. She thanked those that had walked alongside her to assist her to rediscover her voice as a “treasured and assured child of God” — however the incontrovertible fact that there have been only two deans and two archdeacons from an ethnic-minority background troubled her. “Who are the gatekeepers who overlook the potential of individuals like me?”
Responding to the talk, Bishop Hudson-Wilkin said that white priests and bishops could serve anywhere, while black clergy were sent to minister only in black communities. “There’s something not right there,” she said. She echoed Ms Larkin’s query: “Who are the gatekeepers?”
The motion was carried by 364 nem. con., with two recorded abstentions. It read:
That this Synod:
(a) commend the sensible and positive outcomes in From Lament To Action but, recognising the necessity to further embed racial justice within the life and practice of our Church, request that the national Church ensures crucial resources remain available including appropriate governance arrangement and funding, recommend that Dioceses give priority to the gathering, monitoring and measuring of relevant data, and encourage parishes and deaneries to develop local motion plans to handle problems with racial injustice.
(b) note that the Archbishops’ Commission for Racial Justice shall complete its mandated three-year term in November 2024 and request the Archbishops’ Council ensure effective structures exist for monitoring actions and outcomes on racial justice, including a possible review and strengthening of the role of the Committee for Minority Ethnic Anglican Concerns, and that the Synod Group Sessions in February 2025 review the progress made by Dioceses, the NCIs and other related institutions in implementing the recommendations in From Lament To Action.
