The time is right to bring the UKME (United Kingdom Minority Ethnic) community into sharper focus within the Church.
Racism exists in the Church of England. We need every person in every church and every school to root it out. From welcoming our Racial Justice Adviser and UKME Chapter group to Black History Month events and a dedicated quarterly journal, find out more about racial justice across the diocese.
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Black History Month | UKME Chapter | Resources | Oxford Journal for Intercultural Mission
Covenant for racial justice in the Diocese of Oxford
- God is the Creator of all people, and all are God’s children in one family;
- In our common humanity, all women and men are made in God’s image, and all persons are equally valuable in the sight of God;
- Racism goes against the teachings of Jesus Christ;
- By stereotyping and excluding others who are not like us (due to racism), we deny the full display of God’s creation, deprive them and ourselves of his gift, and cannot be a full body of Christ.
- Racism is often used as a justification for social, economic, environmental and political exploitation;
- Our strength lies in our racial and cultural diversity and that we must work toward a world in which each person’s value is respected and nurtured;
- Our struggle for justice must be founded on unbiassed attitudes, better understandings and healthy relationships, and must be reflected in our governance, structures, policies and practices of every church body in the diocese.
- to defend and advocate the rights and the self-determination of every person and group of persons.
- Eliminate all forms of institutional racism in the total ministry of the church, giving special attention to those institutions that we support, beginning with their employment policies, purchasing practices, environmental policies and availability of services and facilities;
- Create opportunities in local churches to deal honestly with the existing racist attitudes and social distance between members, deepening the Christian commitment to be the church where all racial groups and economic classes come together;
- Increase efforts to recruit people of all races in our paid and voluntary roles;
- Provide leadership development opportunities without discrimination;
- Establish workshops and seminars in parishes to study, understand and appreciate the historical and cultural contributions of each race to the church and community;
- Raise the awareness of the continuing need to address social and racial justice ensuring equality, diversity and inclusion at all levels for all people;
- Work in partnership to support and participate in the worldwide struggle for equity in church and community;
- Facilitate nomination and election processes that include all racial groups by employing a system that actively promotes leadership opportunities of communities that are underrepresented as the result of the ongoing legacy of racial injustice.
UKME Chapter
The UKME Chapter offers pastoral support to ordained clergy and licensed lay ministers (LLMs) with a license to officiate within the Diocese of Oxford, through making space for corporate prayer, seeking to hold ourselves and our ministries before God.
The Chapter is not a campaigning forum; however, it will seek to advocate for the UKME community in matters that concern us and/or the communities we represent, particularly on issues of equality, diversity, and inclusion.
UKME resources
Whether you're just starting on a journey of discovery into Black theology or whether you're looking to go deeper, find a growing list of resources.
Intercultural Mission and Ministry Resourcing Hub
St Paul’s Slough is the intercultural mission and ministry resourcing hub church in the Diocese of Oxford.
Through online training, mentoring and sharing, they aim to nurture and grow effective intercultural mission and ministry across the diocese. They support diocesan efforts to create a culture change and address barriers to ethnic minority lay and ordained persons' participation, representation and progression in mission and ministry.
The hub aims to assist the diocesan UKME Development Enabler to realise an increase in ethnic minority lay and ordained ministry enquiries leading to licensing and ordination. Read about intercultural mission and ministry at St Paul's Church, Slough.
The Revd Polly Falconer