Getting started can sometimes feel like the hardest part. That’s why we have created resources to help and support parishes and schools with opportunities to explore racial justice in their communities.
Contact our Racial Justice Officer, Jennie Taylor
Email: jennie.taylor@liverpool.anglican.org or racial.justice@liverpool.anglican.org
Support and Resources for Parishes
Slavery, History and Memory
After the Flood Film Viewing
A facilitated conversation about the church and African enslavement in response to the viewing of After the Flood: the church, slavery and reconciliation by the Movement for Justice and Reconciliation. This is a 67-minute feature documentary which charts the roots and legacies of the 18th century church’s involvement in the transatlantic slave trade and shows the route to reconciliation. Congregations are invited to watch this film together and then discuss its impact in groups.
Slavery Truth Project
This project provides churches with an appropriate, reconciling way of responding to the presence of memorials and items that relate to slavery in their buildings. Groups will have the opportunity to engage with the history of these memorials and their place in the church building. With the support of a community artist, they will share their reflections on the cultural, social and faith connections of these objects.
Culture and Liturgy
Racial Justice Sunday
This commemorative and impactful service takes place on the 2nd Sunday in February each year. It is an opportunity to remember the importance of racial justice, reflect on human diversity and thank God for it and to respond by working to end injustice, racism and ignorance through prayer and action.
Download the resources from the Church of England.
Additional resources are available from Churches Together in Britain and Ireland
Celebrating Cultural Heritage Months
Each church and worshipping community will serve a different local population. Cultural heritage months are opportunities to share and learn about the traditions and expressions of the Christian faith within your community. You can also include celebrations of different cultures within the Christian festival calendar.
For support to plan heritage celebrations in your parish, please contact the Racial Justice Team.
Participation and Belonging
There are several small group resources available to support churches in understanding the lived experiences of global majority heritage people in our churches and to consider how we can all act for racial justice. These resources can be run anyone confident at leading group work.
Radical Welcome
This is a four-session program aimed at helping churches begin to look at what it might mean to go beyond being inclusive – to be radically welcoming. It helps a churches to consider it’s welcome through the perspective of the many different people that may join us in our worshipping and missional spaces.
We Need To Talk About Race
This is a four-session small group study for those who want to understand more about the black British experience in white majority churches. It is supported by the book of the same name by Ben Lindsey a pastor at Emmanuel Church London. He is passionate about inclusion and wants to see a racially diverse church that better serves and represents the local context.
Testament To Truth
Visitor and Chocolate Digestive are two short film monologues by Testament under the title “Testament to Truth” which speak to the presence of racism within the context of the church and the contemporary Christian experience. Testament is an acclaimed West Yorkshire performer, poet, playwright, and rapper. These works, developed after extensive interviews into systemic and personal racism, were originally commissioned by the Leeds Church Institute and Bishop Smitha Prasadam.
Resources for Parishioners can be found here.
Resources for Clergy can be found here.
Support and Resources for Schools
Hate Crime Awareness – Hate makes me feel…
This is a Key stage 2 preventative project with Merseyside Police and Powerfull Beyond all Measure (CIC). Aimed at reducing hate crime and hate incidents across Liverpool City Region this project supports pupils in understanding the impact of hate crime on individuals and communities.
School Governors Training – An Introduction to Racial Justice (Zoom)
The racial justice team are offering our school governors and trustees from Church of England Primary and Secondary schools the opportunity to access free training to support their work providing strategic guidance and accountability through the framework of anti-racism. This is a 90-minute online training session focusing on the governor’s role in developing racial justice responses in a school context.
Support from the Church of England Education Office
Diversifying School Leadership – Leaders Like Us
Leaders Like Us is a multi-faceted programme for aspiring senior leaders from UKME/ GMH backgrounds, throughout the country, with the aim of enabling them to progress to headship. It is open to teachers and leaders in all schools in England, not just Church of England
Anti – Racist Pedagogy – Inclusive Curriculum Leadership Course
This programme equips school leaders by upskilling knowledge and expertise in anti-racist pedagogy, cultural competence and the Inclusive Curriculum Framework and its application. The programme will enable you to review your curriculum content and resources and ensure all future content and resources are inclusive and representative of our diverse world.
For more information about these programmes contact Elizabeth Olulari at the Church of England Education Office
Email: Elizabeth.Olulari@churchofengland.org
Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Justice Collective Worship Resources
Faith at Home have produced Collective Worship resources looking at different aspects of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. The National Education Team have also produced collective worship resources for cultural heritage months providing schools with opportunities to share and learn about the traditions and expressions of the Christian faith within each community. Access the resources here.