Black Lives Matter 

One of our key values at St James is justice and we are committed to racial equality. We fully support and commend the statement which the Archbishop of Canterbury and the former Archbishop of York released last week:

Recent events in the United States of America have once again drawn public attention to the ongoing evil of white supremacy. Systemic racism continues to cause incalculable harm across the world. Our hearts weep for the suffering caused – for those who have lost their lives, those who have experienced persecution, those who live in fear. God’s justice and love for all creation demands that this evil is properly confronted and tackled. Let us be clear: racism is an affront to God. It is born out of ignorance, and must be eradicated. We all bear the responsibility and must play our part to eliminate this scourge on humanity.

“As Dr Martin Luther King Jr said, ‘In a real sense, we are all caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Therefore, injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.’

“We pray that God’s abounding wisdom, compassion and love will guide leaders across the world to forge a better society.”


In addition, we are well aware that white people have long ignored the stories of Black and Asian people. We acknowledge that we must learn to listen, hear, and engage urgently with their experiences.

To give us somewhere to start, we have collected a whole range of media that we hope will help you to hear different voices from the white-dominated culture around us. You can access them from this PDF document.