Better data collection was needed to know the baseline, then assess progress. 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 in the image of God, regardless of colour”. The Church was not truly catholic while it remained white by default, he concluded. “Do not be complacent: there is still so much more we can do.” He led the Synod in applause for Lord Boateng, who chairs the Racial Justice Commission, for pushing the Church to action. He welcomed the report and motion, and called for further research to understand which strategies worked, and which did not. “Racial justice is everybody’s business because it’s about who we are in Christ.” Racial justice was about the Kingdom of God, and must be a “journey for all of us”, he said. This was equally true for safeguarding, the history of slavery, or many other things on the Synod’s agenda. The Archbishop of York said that it was vital to be honest about the past, and not be fearful about looking to the future. He asked whether worship at the Synod could reflect the diversity of worship in ethnic minority-led parishes, to create more visibility. The Committee for Minority Ethnic Anglican Concerns had always been underfunded, and he raised concerns about the future of the Racial Justice Unit, given that the Archbishops’ Commission for Racial Justice finished its term next year. There was not enough “intentionality” in appointments processes, he suggested.
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“Working for racial inclusion and equality is love in action we cannot escape that as followers in Christ.” Despite the welcome addition of more ethnic-minority suffragan bishops, there were still far too few deans and diocesans. The Dean of Manchester, the Very Revd Rogers Govender, said that faith in Jesus had to be lived out in community and in relationships. She still experienced “shock” when visiting monochrome parishes, where people could not believe that a woman from Pakistan could be a C of E priest. “God does not show partiality,” she said, but there were some in the Church who did resist efforts to dismantle racism, and they needed challenging out of their ignorance. The Revd Sarah Siddique Gill (Blackburn) said that “remarkable progress” on racial justice had been made in Blackburn diocese. Geoff Crawford/Church Times The Bishop of Dover, the Rt Revd Rose Hudson-Wilkin
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Such reflections of diversity were necessary, she said, so that all children and young people would know that “this Church belongs to them.” This would take resources, she said, and the representation of people of global-majority heritage in senior positions in the Church: there were few among diocesan bishops, or diocesan secretaries.
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“Lip service will not do, nor will ticking boxes.” The Church must therefore continue in its work “embedding racial justice at all levels”, she said. The racial-justice mandate did not flow from “identity politics”, she said, but the Christian identity. “As the people of God, we should never be afraid or embarrassed to be called an Advent people: always in the business of preparing, and staying alert.” The word had emerged among Black communities, and referred to the need to be socially aware. The motion also called for further work to be done, and requested the Archbishops’ Council to ensure that “effective structures” existed to take forward the work of the Racial Justice Commission, which ends in November.īishop Hudson-Wilkin had seen the word “woke” bandied about in relation to racial justice, but its use was always incorrect, she said. 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 General Synod voted on Sunday afternoon to continue resourcing, collecting data for, and monitoring progress in, the Church’s racial-justice initiatives.