Racial Justice: ‘treating people with equal dignity and respect, protecting the rights of the vulnerable, and holding to account those who have caused harm on the basis of racism.’ (Healing the Divides, Roach & Birdsall, 2022)
Racial Justice Sunday is observed on the second Sunday of February each year. It is an opportunity for all churches to reflect on the importance of racial justice, repent, pray for, and commit to ending racial discrimination, whilst at the same time giving thanks for God’s beautiful diversity. Pursuing racial justice is not a one-Sunday event, so we hope these resources will help to equip your church to explore such themes in greater depth in the coming months.
Below are some resources to help us to worship our Lord with these vital themes of diversity, justice, lament, and racial unity in mind.
- For the Church of England’s resources for racial justice Sunday, including liturgy, please click here.
- Churches together in Britain and Ireland have produced this toolkit for 2023. This comprehensive document includes many resources that you either use or adapt within your own context this includes:
- Suggested bible readings
- Prayers of intercession
- Examen prayers
- Sermons
- It also has an depth series of reflections and personal stories from UKME individuals 30 years on from the murder of Stephen Laurence. These could be used for individual or corporate reflection (eg in bible study groups)
- Churches together in England produced resources in 2022 on the themes of ' Racial Justice: What’s it got to do with me?' that are still available
- Churches together Cornwall produced this toolkit in 2021 which contains a number of prayers, reflections, and sermon ideas
- Baptists together have produced this reading list. Why not choose something from this list to read as a church or as a home group, either now or as a summer read?
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We are grateful to Matt Long and the Community of the Tree of Life for producing these resources for us in relation to racial justice Sunday.
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Remembering the great cloud of witnesses. A 45 minute prayer guide for racial justice, including scripture, story, poetry and act of commitment and a blessing.
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Remembering, Reflecting and Responding: A 60 minute prayer guide that includes a guided Examen, poetry, scripture, story.
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Imaginative Prayer: Abba Moses and the Good Samaritan. A 30 minute prayer guide for racial justice that includes a scriptural-reading exercise in the form of Ignatian spirituality.
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