Church of England marks Racial Justice Sunday Feb. 9 with online service, other observances

[Church of England] In a national online service Feb. 9 that marked the 30th anniversary of Racial Justice Sunday, viewers heard that racial justice reflects “core” Christian values and is “rooted in love.”

The bishop of Edmonton, the Rt. Rev. Anderson Jeremiah, led the service, in a broadcast from St. Francis at the Engine Room church in Tottenham, north London, with participants from across the country.

The online service was one of a series of Church of England events and services to mark Racial Justice Sunday, including a service at Manchester Cathedral where Archbishop of York Stephen Cottrell preached.

In opening remarks at the start of the online service, Anderson said, “Racism begins when we fail to love, when we turn away from justice, when we do not practice compassion.

“Racist attitudes take away human dignity and disfigure the image of God in each and every one of us, and that is why racism is a sin because it is not of God.

“Racial justice is rooted in love and recognition that it is through love that equity and dignity can be redeemed.

“So, we are invited as children of God to hold each other, to hold on to the idea that our beings are inter-dependent, we are inter-woven. We cannot live without the other.”

The Rev. Sharon Prentis, the Church of England’s deputy racial justice director, also contributed to the service, and Dover Bishop Rose Hudson-Wilkin read intercession prayers.

Prentis said that the call to love one another is at the heart of the Christian faith, and racial justice reflects “core Christian values.”

“Jesus exemplified the importance of racial justice by reaching out to the marginalized and speaking against oppression,” she said. “As Christians, we are called to follow his example by confronting racism, listening to the voices of the suffering, and standing in solidarity with them.”

Other services took place across the country. These included at Guildford Cathedral, where the bishop of Dorking, the Rt. Rev. Paul Davies, led a special Eucharist, along with guest preacher the Rev. Folli Olokose, lead area director of ordinands for Kensington (Diocese of London) and a former member of the Diocese of Guildford Racial Diversity Advisory Group.

The bishop of Birkenhead, the Rt. Rev. Julie Conalty, led a celebration at St. John’s Church, Hartford, featuring voices from across the Diocese of Chester reading the Lord’s Prayer in Tamil, Spanish, Urdu, Telugu, Welsh, French, Romanian, Malayalam and Chichewa.

A Racial Justice Sunday service also took place at St. Anne’s Church in Bewdley, organized by the Diocese of Worcester Racial Justice Forum. The bishop of Dudley and acting bishop of Worcester, the Rt. Rev. Martin Gorick, preached.

Gorick said, “Racial Justice Sunday is an important opportunity to celebrate the diversity of our world church and lament the inequalities, lack of understanding and prejudice that still exist.

“This diocesan service will be a chance to hear experiences and perspectives from those of Global Majority Heritage and make a commitment together to work toward a better world.”