Sunday 14th February 2021 is Racial Justice Sunday.
Last year, 2020, marked the 25th anniversary of Racial Justice Sunday (RJS) in Britain and Ireland. This significant anniversary also coincided with the tragic killing of African American, George Floyd and the re-emergence of the Black Lives Matter movement with its various protests on both sides of the Atlantic. All this coincided with the emergence of a pandemic that continues to wreak havoc in societies around world, ruining lives in the process. The COVID-19 crisis has also highlighted the existing inequalities in our society; the poorer, more marginalised communities are disproportionately impacted by this pandemic. In due course, all these events served to demonstrate the need for greater racial justice in our society.
A new page has been created on the diocesan website with links to resources for Racial Justice Sunday collated by the Revd Dr Rosalyn Murphy.
Rosalyn says;
“Celebrating Racial Justice Sunday in our churches, reminds us that Christ calls his followers to lead the world in extending equality to all human beings, because all are made in His image. Excluding even one, somehow says that God made a mistake. Paul writes in Romans 8 that, ‘not only creation (groans in labour pains), but we ourselves...groan inwardly while we wait for our adoption...’
The suffering that inequality and injustice cause the global majority actually opposes the redemptive work of Christ. Our redemption comes, not simply by accepting Christ as our saviour, but also in allowing his Holy Spirit to complete the ‘heart’ work needed in us. Of course, the outcome of Spirit working is us is that our hearts are opened to love each other, even as we love ourselves.”
The resources are commended by Bishop John and are available for all to use and share. View them here.