UK church brings official apology for involvement in slavery
A United Kingdom church denomination, part of a 10-member delegation visiting Jamaica, has brought an official apology for the churches’ historic involvement in the enslavement of Africans and the issue of human trade.
The delegation, which is made up of various church denominations in the UK, is currently on a 12-day visit to the island, which has been described as “part of the journey towards repentance for one of the modern era’s most destructive collective sins.”
A release announcing the group’s visit stated that during the 12-day stay, dubbed the Ecumenical Pilgrimage for Justice Reconciliation and Unity, one of the denominations will present an official apology which will be received by the moderator of the United Church in Jamaica and the Cayman Islands at an ecumenical service on Sunday, April 14 at 4 pm at the Webster Memorial Church, Half-Way Tree Road, Kingston.
The sermon is to be delivered by the Rt Reverend Christine Benguche, Bishop of the Methodist Church in Jamaica and President of the Jamaica Council of Churches.
The pilgrimage to the island is a result of a visit of the principals of the Churches’ Reparations Action Forum (CRAF) from Jamaica to the United Kingdom in June 2023, the release said.
“Our visit to the UK was to share our perspectives on reparation and to encourage the churches, para-church organisations and civic society to embrace, or take on, the call for reparation and to join us in the work of advocacy for repair, which for us is both relational and financial. We were grateful to God for the overwhelming reception we received in that country,” said Pastor Bruce Fletcher, convenor of CRAF.
“Whilst British Churches may have profited directly from the trade in and enslavement of Africans, the inhumanity of enslaving others and moulding our theology to justify it also casts a scandalous shadow on the churches’ spiritual legacy and integrity,” he continued.
During their visit to the island, the UK delegation is expected to pay courtesy calls on government officials, and hold conversations with heads of various churches, the National Council on Reparation as well as civic leaders and interest groups.
There are also plans for the representatives to visit various communities and special historic sites. The group is expected to leave the island on April 22.
