SOCIAL JUSTICE AND PEOPLE

Racial Justice in our Churches

Tuesday 13 July, 7-9pm, online.

The Church of England is for all people, in all places, from all backgrounds. At the same time, the recent Panorama programme showed that people experience exclusion in our churches. At this event, we hear from people from minority ethnic backgrounds what they want to say to our churches.

Our speakers

• Staffan Dawkins, now at St Paul the Apostle, Tottenham, a majority-black church,
  formerly a Curate in Ely Diocese
• Zarine Jacob, a member of the cathedral community
• Sue Butler, Pioneer Minister in Landbeach and a member of the GRT (Gypsy Roma Traveller) community
• Caroline Buckley, a member of the GRT community

Programme

7:00 Introduction and opening worship
7:20 First dialogue: Staffan and Zarine (including Q&A) 7:50 Break
8:00 Second dialogue: Sue and Caroline (including Q&A) 8:30 Reflecting on what we have heard in breakout rooms 8:50 Next steps and Closing prayer
9:00 Close

Book here

Ongoing work supporting people in need

This is currently focused in these directions:

• ongoing work in our area to combat the evils of modern slavery and exploitative work
• support for Ely Foodbank

• To respond to human need by loving service
• To transform unjust structures of society, to challenge violence of every kind and pursue peace and reconciliation

We believe that responding to human need through loving service is at the core of our outreach, both locally and globally. We recognise, however, the necessity to take seriously the 4^th mark of mission, because it is in challenging unjust structures that we reduce human need. There is a difference between a narrow of view of politics, based on political party, and a wider view of politics, which is that it is about our collective life in our community and in our nation. It is not enough for us to contribute to Ely Foodbank, for instance, unless we also do what we can to ensure that there is no need for it.

We therefore support Christian Aid through the annual collection in Christian Aid Week, and by other fund-raising.

These marks of mission are at the heart of the work the Mothers' Union does.