On Sunday 4 October, we held our celebration of Black History at St Andrew Catford. More than 100 friends, family, and members of our local community were all invited to join in the celebration. We began with a church service singing hymns chosen by black members of our congregation and hearing powerful perspectives on what the Bible readings mean for people with first-hand and lived experience. We also unveiled our special new altar frontal based on a pattern created by our children and young people with ships on the stormy sea of life, surrounded by clouds of witnesses and illuminated by the sun. This is a lasting legacy for our church which is dedicated to St Andrew.
After the service, we moved over to the hall for lots of opportunities to engage with and celebrate black excellence. We joined in with some singing, heard spoken word pieces about black experiences, witnessed an incredible dance routine from one of our young people based on a book: The Color Purple and ‘boogied on down’ to some epic soul tunes. All of this was accompanied by lots of food from patties to chicken and fish and fresh hardo (hard dough) bread – all washed down with some tasty rum punch.
Comments from members of our church community included;
“It was fantastic to learn about how the BHM movement started and I think the question of why we are still so underprivileged is a question some of us are still asking, but things are changing.”
“It is a privilege to be able to acknowledge the work that black people bring to this country.”
“It was great to hear so many things that resonated with me through the spoken word pieces.”
In the Sunday school the children learned about how “everyone is different, but everyone is one.”
“The dancing the singing and the food has been great!”
“I wish we could do more of this, more than once a year!”
An all age celebration with people aged from seven to 67, they all mentioned the singing, with a few being brought to tears by some of the hymns and songs we sang.
Thanks to our community who volunteered so much of their time and resources to planning and delivering the service and producing our new altar frontal – it was a fabulous day. We are also grateful for the support of the Racial Justice Team at the Diocese of Southwark, who made it all possible and provided us with funding through a grant, and encouraged throughout the process. It is great that the diocese is able to support communities like ours in this way – especially to breakdown division, build new relationships and seek a just future for all in our churches.
Find out more about the diocesan grants available to all parishes to advance and develop racial justice within local areas and communities of our diocese, by emailing [email protected]
Revd Bec Wilkinson, St Andrew’s Catford
