Black church leaders gear up for landmark UK summit
-15/09/05
Following the tenth annual Racial Justice Sunday, Britain’s black and minority ethnic churches are now gearing up for a landmark national summit which will bring together more than a hundred key Christian leaders from across the UK.
Among the issues on the table will be church child abuse, witchcraft and alleged ritual killings, which hit the headlines earlier in the year following the case of three church people convicted and sentenced for aiding, abetting and carrying out the serious abuse of an eight-year-old child they believed to be demonically possessed.
The all-day conference, entitled ‘Stronger Together – Weaker Apart’, will take place on 20 October 2005 at the Emmanuel Centre in central London. It has been organised by Minority Ethnic Christian Affairs (MECA) in recognition of the increased role black and minority ethnic leaders play within both church and society.
MECA is a catalyst for cooperation and an instrument of Churches Together (the official ecumenical structures) working with black Christians across Britain and Ireland.
The organisers say the summit is for praying, networking and discussing major concerns – including global warming, natural disasters, famine in Africa, AIDS, international development, terrorism and the London bombings.
The meeting will also explore the contrast between revival in the black churches and the apparent slump in attendance in mainstream denominations.
The minority ethnic population in Britain and Ireland is 7.9 percent of the overall total. Over 90 percent live in England, of which 45 percent live in London.
According to recent figures released by Christian Research, black church membership in England has grown by 18 percent, while overall figures in England have fallen by 5 percent. Black and minority ethnic congregants are 66 percent of London’s church going population.
Commenting that the upcoming summit would amount to ìa turning pointî for those involved, Bishop Dr Joe Aldred, Secretary for Minority Ethnic Christian Affairs at Churches Together in Britain and Ireland, declared: ìBritain’s black and minority ethnic Christian community, particularly Ö in our inner cities, is a key factor for the future growth and witness of Christianity in this country.î
Earlier this week, churches across Britain and Ireland of all ethnic backgrounds took part in the annual Racial Justice Sunday, which this year marked its tenth anniversary.
The event was hailed as a success by CTBIís racial justice secretary, the Rev Arlington Trotman, Evangelical Alliance UK general director, the Rev Joel Edwards, Catholic Association for Racial Justice representative, Bishop Keiran Conry, and CEO of the African and Caribbean Evangelical Alliance (ACEA), the Rev Katei Kirby.
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, offered a special message to the focal gathering at St Paulís Cathedral, affirming the role of an initiative which brings together Christians from right across the spectrum of church traditions.
Black church leaders gear up for landmark UK summit
-15/09/05
Following the tenth annual Racial Justice Sunday, Britain’s black and minority ethnic churches are now gearing up for a landmark national summit which will bring together more than a hundred key Christian leaders from across the UK.
Among the issues on the table will be church child abuse, witchcraft and alleged ritual killings, which hit the headlines earlier in the year following the case of three church people convicted and sentenced for aiding, abetting and carrying out the serious abuse of an eight-year-old child they believed to be demonically possessed.
The all-day conference, entitled ‘Stronger Together – Weaker Apart’, will take place on 20 October 2005 at the Emmanuel Centre in central London. It has been organised by Minority Ethnic Christian Affairs (MECA) in recognition of the increased role black and minority ethnic leaders play within both church and society.
MECA is a catalyst for cooperation and an instrument of Churches Together (the official ecumenical structures) working with black Christians across Britain and Ireland.
The organisers say the summit is for praying, networking and discussing major concerns – including global warming, natural disasters, famine in Africa, AIDS, international development, terrorism and the London bombings.
The meeting will also explore the contrast between revival in the black churches and the apparent slump in attendance in mainstream denominations.
The minority ethnic population in Britain and Ireland is 7.9 percent of the overall total. Over 90 percent live in England, of which 45 percent live in London.
According to recent figures released by Christian Research, black church membership in England has grown by 18 percent, while overall figures in England have fallen by 5 percent. Black and minority ethnic congregants are 66 percent of London’s church going population.
Commenting that the upcoming summit would amount to ‘a turning point’ for those involved, Bishop Dr Joe Aldred, Secretary for Minority Ethnic Christian Affairs at Churches Together in Britain and Ireland, declared: ‘Britain’s black and minority ethnic Christian community, particularly Ö in our inner cities, is a key factor for the future growth and witness of Christianity in this country.’
Earlier this week, churches across Britain and Ireland of all ethnic backgrounds took part in the annual Racial Justice Sunday, which this year marked its tenth anniversary.
The event was hailed as a success by CTBI’s racial justice secretary, the Rev Arlington Trotman, Evangelical Alliance UK general director, the Rev Joel Edwards, Catholic Association for Racial Justice representative, Bishop Keiran Conry, and CEO of the African and Caribbean Evangelical Alliance (ACEA), the Rev Katei Kirby.
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, offered a special message to the focal gathering at St Paul’s Cathedral, affirming the role of an initiative which brings together Christians from right across the spectrum of church traditions.