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RACIAL JUSTICE
Mission Council at its
meeting in October 2002 agreed that the Committee for Racial Justice
is responsible for: enabling the United Reformed Church to understand
and respond to the multi‑racial/multi‑cultural nature of society in
order to enhance its mission; assisting the United Reformed Church to
reflect on racial justice issues and to address these in its policies;
identifying strategies for combating racism in all its forms in the
church and society, working closely with other committees and councils
of the church to implement them; helping the United Reformed Church to
celebrate the diverse racial and cultural backgrounds of its
membership, encouraging all members to participate meaningfully at all
levels of the Church’s life.
Committee Members
Convener: Revd
Andrew Prasad
Secretary: Mrs
Katalina Tahaafe‑Williams
Mrs Sandra Ackroyd, Revd
Dr John Campbell, Mrs Vanessa Honeyghan, Revd Julie Martin,
Mrs Elaine Patrick, Mrs
Helen Renner, Revd Norman Setchell, Mr Shaheen Zar
1
Introduction
1.1
The Committee welcomes the opportunity to make its second successive
report to General Assembly this year. The Committee considers it a
privilege to have this chance two years running and is grateful to the
Equal Opportunities Committee for the initiative which led to it, and
to the Assembly Arrangements Committee for enabling the process to
happen.
1.2
The Committee is pleased that it now has its official remit and wishes
to thank Mission Council for the commitment and support on this issue.
The Committee’s remit constitute the overall framework within which
the Racial Justice programme operates and hence guides the report we
bring to Assembly, although this year’s report will focus specifically
on some issues.
2
Personalia
2.1
Significant changes in the Committee’s membership have taken place in
2002. We have said farewell to Mr Kofi Akumanyi and to our former
Convener, the Revd Raymond Singh. This year we welcome the Revd Andrew
Prasad as the new Convener of the Committee. We also welcome to the
Committee Mrs Sandra Ackroyd, Mrs Elaine Patrick, and the Revd Norman
Setchell.
2.2
The Committee records its appreciation to the Revd Raymond Singh for
his valuable contribution to the work of the Committee in the past
year and wishes him well in his continuing ministry. The Committee is
also deeply grateful to the Assembly Nominations Committee for the
prompt response in addressing the Committee’s membership.
3
Priorities
3.1
Recognising that the Racial Justice programme is massive, the
Committee will focus its work for this year on the following key
issues:
3.1.1
Co‑operation with other Assembly
Committees
Through the Secretary for
Racial Justice and other links, the Committee is working very closely
with the Committees for Equal Opportunities, Ecumenical and
International Relations, Church and Society, Youth and Children’s
Work, and Inter Faith Relations. The Committee looks forward to
developing close working relationships with all Assembly Committees in
the future.
3.1.2
Training Resources
The Committee is keen to
produce training materials and resources for churches, groups and
individuals to use. The Committee is currently revising existing
ecumenical training materials, which it will adapt to suit specific
needs in the United Reformed Church. Given the recent changes in its
membership the Committee has changed its printing deadline to autumn
this year.
3.1.3
Developing Youth Work
The Committee gratefully
commends the Committee for Youth and Children for their great effort
in securing government funding for work with young people. The
Committee has received a portion of this fund to help develop
empowerment initiatives and projects for ethnic minority youth in the
United Reformed Church. The Committee eagerly anticipates increasing
the number of young people attending the Annual Ethnic Minority Youth
Conference in October.
3.1.4
Developing Multicultural Ministry
The Committee looks forward
to the first United Reformed Church consultation on Multicultural
Ministry in April 2003 at the Windermere Centre. The Secretary for
Racial Justice is working very closely with the Director of the
Windermere Centre to organise this event, and it is envisaged that
this would be the beginning of a series of consultations on this
issue. The Committee sees this consultation as instrumental in
bringing a multicultural perspective to the process headed by the
United Reformed Church General Secretary to look at the future shape
of our denomination.
3.1.5
Racial Justice Advocacy (RJA)
The Committee is proud of the
increasing success of the RJA. A Racial Justice Advocacy Planning
Group (RJAPG) now assists the Secretary for Racial Justice in
planning, strategizing and operating this crucial part of the racial
justice programme. The Committee is pleased with the progress the
RJAPG has made to the advocacy scheme in such a short time. Moreover,
the Secretary continues to recruit advocates as she visits the synods
and the Committee is grateful for the reception she has received from
the eight synods she has visited so far. The Committee appeals to the
synods, district councils, and churches to give practical support to
the RJ Advocacy scheme through enabling regional RJ Advocates to
attend national meetings and training weekends run by the Secretary.
3.1.6
Refugees & Asylum Seekers
The Committee is concerned
that misinformation and prejudice have contributed significantly to
the worsening plight of refugees and asylum seekers in our society.
The Committee, noting the tireless efforts by individual members and
churches of the United Reformed Church to care for asylum seekers in
their communities, continues to encourage all efforts from within the
United Reformed Church and the wider society to give practical care
and support to asylum seekers wherever possible. The Committee brings
a resolution on this issue to Assembly this year.
4
RJC Events 2003
4.1
Events on the Racial Justice 2003 Calendar include Cause for
Celebration March 29; Unity in Diversity Consultation April 7‑10;
Ethnic Minorities Annual Conference June 7; Racial Justice Sunday
September 14; Black History Month and the Ethnic Minority Youth Annual
Conference both in October. The Committee invites anyone who would
like more information on any of these events to contact the Racial
Justice office in Church House, Tavistock Place.
Resolution 27
Refugees & Asylum Seekers
General Assembly, noting the
strength of feeling on the issue of refugees and asylum seekers in our
society today, urges all members and local churches of the United
Reformed Church to:
a). acknowledge the
unequivocal call of the Bible to care for the stranger in our midst
and to respond to the needs of strangers in our own neighbourhoods
with compassion and practical friendship;
b). seek to address our own
attitudes towards refugees and asylum seekers with honesty and in ways
that reflect the quality of our faith and commitment to our caring
God;
c). seek to live out the
Gospel of Jesus Christ in relation to refugees and asylum seekers
through challenging the selfishness and racism that their presence has
exposed, and by resisting any attempts to make this racism socially
acceptable, whilst being aware that honest attempts to do so may lead
to ridicule by many in British society.
1
The Committee for Racial Justice is deeply concerned about the growing
tension over the issue of Refugees and Asylum Seekers in our society
as a whole. The Committee is also aware that misinformation and
exaggeration largely spread by the news media have successfully played
on people’s fears and prejudices.
2
The Committee affirms the continuing commitment of the racial justice
advocates’ network to addressing this problem. However, given the
rising level of concern highlighted, the Committee needs more help in
both dispelling the widespread misconceptions about asylum seekers,
and in providing practical support.
3
In terms of practical support for the work the Committee offers the
following suggestions:
a)
District Councils that do not yet have Racial Justice Advocates to
nominate persons and to provide the means with which to enable them to
attend the two annual meetings organized by the Racial Justice
Secretary. Names and contact details to be send to the Racial Justice
Office.
b) District Councils with the
help of the Racial Justice networks to work ecumenically and with
Inter Faith Networks where possible to locate areas in the locality
where asylum seekers may be and to identify practical and humane
approaches to supporting and meeting their needs.
c)
District Councils and local churches, as far as is possible, to seek
ways to enable and empower the voices of asylum seekers to be heard.
(E.g. through inviting people within the racial justice network
together with asylum seekers themselves to speak for themselves and
share their stories at district council meetings and other church
gatherings).
4
The Committee hopes to make available at the Portsmouth Assembly in
July 2003 a publication produced by the Churches Commission for Racial
Justice (CCRJ) called ‘Asylum Voices’. The Committee invites General
Assembly, its Committees and other Councils of the United Reformed
Church to use this publication as a resource as they engage in
conversations, seeking deeper understanding on this difficult issue.
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