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Multicultural United Reformed Churches

1. Introduction

1.1 As well as the emergence and growth of single-ethnic minority ethnic congregations in the UK some of which have associations and relationships with the United Reformed Church in some of our Synods; multicultural United Reformed Churches are growing and form a significant presence within the United Reformed Church. Ministry, mission and resources in relation to these churches need to be taken seriously by the denomination.

2. History

2.1 Multicultural United Reformed Church congregations have been a feature of the United Reformed Church since its beginning in 1972, but the number of such congregations has grown steadily since that time. The most significant minority ethnic group in the early days were from different Caribbean roots (e.g. Jamaica, Guyana, St Kitts, Barbados, Trinidad etc). There were in fact a few people of Caribbean roots in Congregational churches pre 1950. Many people who came from the Caribbean in the Windrush era and tried to settle in churches went through many painful experiences. People naturally looked for church of the same or similar tradition to the areas they were familiar with in the Caribbean, but were met with a cold reception or ignored or told that they would surely be happier down the road where there was a black church (usually a Pentecostal one). This kind of situation was also experienced by West Africans trying to worship in Churches of Presbyterian tradition in the 1960’s, 70’s and 80’s. However there were a few Congregational and Presbyterian Churches that did warmly welcome people from the Caribbean and other places in the early days (e.g. Church in Sheffield, now a United Reformed Church and same now United Reformed Church congregations in London). Between the 1970s and 1990s there has been a steady increase in the number of people from Caribbean and West African roots joining United Reformed Churches. The majority of the people of West African roots are from Ghana. Some church congregations also include people of different Asian and European roots.

3. The Current Situation

3.1 At present in the United Reformed Church we have churches that include a small number of minority ethnic members, others where 50% of the members are of minority ethnic origin and some that are predominantly or even totally minority ethnic in composition. Such churches are often referred to a black majority United Reformed Churches. London has the largest percentage of minority ethnic people in the UK (approximately 60% of the minority ethnic population in the UK) so it is not surprising that the largest United Reformed Church minority ethnic population can be found in United Reformed Churches in London. For example approximately 47% of the United Reformed Church’s in Thames North Synod are multi-cultural to a lesser or greater extent. The following is a very approximate estimate of the minority ethnic percentage in church’s in the Thames North Synod.

   24% of Churches have only a few

   12% of churches have fifty percent

   11% of Churches have a predominantly minority ethnic members

3.2 A similar pattern to a lesser extent can be found in the London Churches of the Southern Synod. Multi cultural United Reformed Church’s can also be found in several other Synods, particularly in the West Midlands (e.g. Birmingham and Wolverhampton) but also in Yorkshire and South Western Synods, and others.

3.3 Many of the churches described here are maintaining their level of membership and some are growing steadily in membership. They are not declining churches. There many good examples within these churches of community outreach and community work within the church building. In terms of what is happening in multicultural United Reformed Churches, they could be said to be in continuum. At one end there are some that still have a white core group of members holding all the power and responsibility and where minority-ethnic members are on the fringes of the church. At the other end of the spectrum there are churches that have undergone a transformation in leadership, where minority ethnic members have been invited, enabled and empowered to lead and reshape the church and are in positions of responsibility in eldership, leadership amongst children and young people and in finance and management. They are also offering their gifts and talents in worship and some are serving in the wider church at District, Synod and National levels.  Some churches have been and are being enriched and changed through the mutual growing together of all the different ethnic and cultural groups, within a congregation.

4. Lessons to be learnt

• Ensure that ministers and elders do not speak on behalf of minority ethnic members of their churches

• Identify and deal with any racist behaviour in the congregation. If left unattended, such behaviour can create a real block, which will prevent the church becoming truly multicultural

• Avoid paternalistic approaches towards minority ethnic members

• Stress the importance of the different cultural groups and members recognising and valuing each other

• Multi cultural churches themselves must not get too comfortable with the composition of their congregations, because there may be other and emerging ethnic groups settling in the neighbourhoods around the church, that maybe the church should be reaching out to. Just as the ethnic composition in communities can shift and change over a period of time, so must the church also respond to such changes

5. Principles to work at and continue to work towards:

• Building confidence
  Amongst people who have been let down and kept down by churches in the past. So that people’s gifts, talents and skills can be used shared and developed.

• Real sharing
  Sharing between different cultures within a church does not only imply eating and drinking together, but means sharing power and responsibility. It means being around the decision making table as well as the food table.

• Spiritual nurture
  The spiritual nurture of minority ethnic members as for all members needs to be carefully considered. Particularly in multi cultural churches, there can be different kinds of spiritual needs which will require a variety of responses.

• Education and training
  It is important to ensure that minority ethnic members of churches have, as well as all members’ information about training and resources in relation to eldership, Youth and Children’s work training and ordained ministry. They should be actively encouraged to enquire about these opportunities and be able to access them.

• Participation
  It is important that minority ethnic members of congregations are invited to consider church membership, if they are only worshippers. Also within some cultures the practice of volunteering comes after a personal invitation to get involved in an aspect of Church life or take responsibility within the Church.

• Empowerment
  Empowerment of and amongst minority ethnic member churches to participate, be involved and to take up leadership is crucial, so that the whole church can benefit from peoples gifts, talents and skills and be truly enriched.

6. Gains and benefits

6.1 The gains and benefits of being a multicultural United Reformed Church include;

• The variety of worship experience (that can be drawn on) that not only comes from experience of church in other countries but also because minority ethnic members also come from different denominational backgrounds.

• The Rites of Passage practices and experiences relating mainly to birth, marriage and death and also particular kinds of services relating to the offering, gift days and fund raising all provide good opportunities for theological reflection and pastoral care.

• The great opportunites for youth and children’s ministry.Many multi cultural churches have sizeable numbers of children and young people. Such local churches are enriched by their presence and therefore so is FURY at local level. Minority ethnic young people within the United Reformed Church could become a sizable and significant presence and force within FURY in the wider United Reformed Church.

• The relationship that many minority ethnic members have with families, communities and churches in their countries of origin, provides natural links with churches n other countries. Opportunities for forming links and twinnings between United Reformed Churches and churches in these countries are many (e.g. With Churches in Ghana and also with the United Church in Jamaica and the Cayman Islands).

7. Conclusion

• It is important that the national level of the United Reformed Church recognises that multicultural United Reformed Churches exist and have great potential for growth.

• It is also important that District Councils and Synods also recognise that such churches exist within their areas and that minority ethnic members of these churches should be thought about when considering representation on committees and councils of the church.

• It could be useful if the United Reformed Church provided opportunities to invite multi-cultural United Reformed Churches to write and tell their stories so that the denomination can hear first hand the diversity of life that exists in the United Reformed Church and the potential for growth and development.

Committee for Racial Justice and Multicultural Ministry

Sandra Ackroyd

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