Displaying items by tag: Diversity

The Church of England is defending its appointment of 'racial justice enablers' to tackle racial inequality and 'white fragility’, amid criticism that it might alienate worshippers. In Birmingham and York, these positions focus on addressing issues like deconstructing whiteness and unconscious bias. The Rev Guy Hewitt, head of the church’s Racial Justice Unit, underscores the gospel's call to confront racism, while critics like Rev Dr Ian Paul argue the approach could create more division, reflecting American cultural conflicts. The initiative has broad support within church synods, though some parishioners have expressed concern over resource allocation. These roles are part of a wider effort to make the Church more inclusive and tackle racism. Church leaders stress the importance of addressing the sin of racism and its impact, aligning with the Church's mission to be a church for all tribes and nations.

The growth of the Persian Christian community across the UK has prompted the Church of England to publish a Farsi translation of the Holy Communion service. They held the first Persian worship celebration in Birmingham on 2 March, saying it is a gift that demonstrates their commitment to welcome Iranians into the life of the Church of England. All Anglican churches with people from Iran in their congregations were invited to bring Persians, English, and those from other backgrounds. Although Farsi is the official language of Iran, a number of other languages are spoken. 75% of Farsi speakers also speak one of these other languages. We can pray for the Farsi mother-tongue believers to enter the mission field and reveal God’s love to the Kurds, the Lurs, and other Turkic language groups. See

One month after a large group of black and minority-ethnic (BAME) clergy wrote a letter criticising the lack of non-white senior clergy in the CofE, Downing Street has announced the appointment of the first BAME bishop for twenty years. The next Bishop of Woolwich will be the Vicar of St John’s, Upper Holloway, Revd Woyin Karo­wei Dorgu. The 58-year-old was born and brought up in Nigeria, and worked as a GP before training for ordination. He has been Vicar of St John’s since 2000. ‘We are greatly honoured to be invited to share and contribute to this dynamic ministry of bringing God’s love to the people of Wool­wich and the diocese,’ Revd Dorgu said. Speaking to reporters, he said, ‘I want to encourage BAME vocations and more participation in ministry. I will celebrate the divers­ity in race, ability, gender, sexuality, and class. Celebrating our differ­ences is a gift.’