Photo: Lorie Shaull
Since the brutal murder of George Floyd there have been lots of words of outrage and condemnation. I want to echo them, but not repeat them. For too many the repeating and echoing will be just that, words. But these times require more than words and statements. This is a time of required reflection and action. Reflection on perhaps our own complicity in remaining silent and being ignorant of our own history of racial injustice and slavery.
So words aren’t enough. At CTBI we want to give voice to those whose voices we need to hear as we work out our way forward towards a really just, equal and inclusive society. We need to hear from those within our own churches whose voices have been silenced and diminished over many years. So we will begin a listening project that gives space to hear the experiences of Black church goers, of those who have been turned away or refused a proper place within church and wider circles across society.
We will also hear and give space to Black leaders within the churches whose voices are too often on the margins and are too often so easily ignored.
We will begin a series of webinars where we begin some of these conversations allowing truth to speak to power. They will be live streamed and available on our website. These conversations are being planned throughout the rest of this year. They will include ‘The Hostile Environment’ ‘Brexit and Racism’ ‘Grenfell Tower Fire’ ‘The Windrush Scandal’ ‘Covid-19 and the BAME Community’.
We will continue to support the Standing Together Coalition with CTBI, the Ascension Trust and others. Along side that we will continue to partner in the Serious Youth Violence programme caring and reaching out to young people, especially young Black men caught up in knife and other serious crime.
As well as this we will continue our work to support and draw attention to refugee and asylum issues through our Churches Refugee Network.
Along side this we will also continue to support the Sanctuary programme being offered around the country with Rev’d Inderjit Bhogal.
So we will not echo and repeat words, but we will continue to work and listen and act.
A wise commentator wrote a personal reflection that said “A journey of a thousand miles continues step-by-step, and you don’t have to agree on the entire travel plan to put the next foot forward. Oh, and as we do it, be better than me. Remember, I had to change where I sat before I could change where I stood. If you first change where you stand, then the next generation will sit in a very different and better place”.
Bob Fyffe
General Secretary, CTBI
8th June 2020
