If you would like a downloable version of this video please email beth.cluer@leciestercofe.org
Transcript:
In this new series of short videos I've been exploring the diocesan priorities that we're seeking to work with as part of the Shaped By God Together Process. As we look at how God is reshaping the church, not just in response to the pandemic and the lockdown, but indeed through wider changes going on within society; we believe under God that we should work with five particular priorities, areas that we want to resource, to enable the growth in the depth of discipleship and the numbers of disciples and indeed the loving service of our communities. The overarching vision that we've talked about for our diocese.
Last week I looked at the priority around new communities and this week I want to look at the priority of intercultural worshiping communities.
It's timely because this week the Archbishop's task force on racism has published its report please do take a look at the national church website to see a copy of that report and its recommendations. And at the same time here in the Diocese of Leicester we have published our own Diocesan Racial Equity Strategy, as we've called it. The really important thing to note is that both of these are not just church reports, there have been dozens of such reports before, but these are practical steps that we are going to take in order to tackle racism within the church.
But we're setting that as well particularly in the Diocese of Leicester in a context of intercultural community life. Wanting to see people of all cultures and all backgrounds welcomed into our churches and learning from one another and worshiping together and supporting and caring for one another. We believe this is a really important expression of what it means to be the Church.
We are called to be breaking down the barriers within this society whatever shape or form those barriers may take. In order to bring about renewed relationships within the Body of Christ. And that's why I believe this is such an important piece of work; not just because lots of people are talking about it in society in the wake of the Black Lives Matter movement, but much more because it is about what it means to be a disciple of Jesus Christ and what it means to be the community of the church. So I want to say to you wherever you are whatever your particular context and whether this is something that you've engaged with before or not. I do want to make a very personal plea to ask you to engage with this subject and to explore how you in your own local context can truly be an intercultural community and how you can play your part in bringing about change within the wider church and indeed society. This is not just about the makeup of our communities and whether our communities are diverse in and of themselves. This is about how we reach out to others who may be very different to ourselves but we reach out to them in a desire to serve them, to learn from them and so that together we can understand more of what God is asking of us.
So my thanks for all that you are doing within the life of your local churches and please help us to explore more of what it means to be an intercultural worshiping community.