The 30th anniversary of Racial Justice Sunday was last Sunday, 9th February.  Racial justice is very close to our hearts in the Diocese in Europe and many chaplaincies have shared something of the services and activities they held.  Many of these are featured on our Facebook and Instagram pages: @DioceseinEurope.  Here are two of those chaplaincies:

The chaplaincy in Freiburg had a multicultural youth choir with various musical instruments. The vestments for the service were used as the basis to initiate a discussion on many colours. The chaplain at Freiburg Revd Vinod Victor (left) hails originally from Asia, and Roberto (right) from Mexico:

The Youthful Choir preparing for the service:

Freiburg congregation member Dorothy Rachel (front and right in the picture above)

"Racial Justice Sunday at the Anglican Church in Freiburg was a celebration of unity, diversity, inclusion and respect and a time of retrospection, repentance and reflection. The service was enriched with harmonious melodies sung by a youthful multi-racial choir, songs that transcended boundaries of language and genres. 

The chasuble and stole that the worship leaders wore symbolised the “many colours” and the liturgy was drawn from different cultures, allowing everyone to learn about each other's traditions and to appreciate and embrace them. The homily and the prayers highlighted the different manifestations of conscious, subconscious and unconscious biases that manifest themselves in racial expressions. 

The service humbly acknowledged that not everything that we face can be changed but also affirmed that nothing can be changed unless we face it. 

After the service, our multi-racial community came together to share a meal at church, consisting of food from several parts of the world, enjoying different dishes and, different cuisines. The colourful ethnic dresses that people wore also symbolised the rich diversity that we celebrate. The best way to describe it is that 'everyone had a sense of belonging to each other'. The Racial Justice Sunday was a true reflection of the spirit of love, peace and equality on the one hand and a harsh reminder of the blatant manifestations of racism and othering that people live with each day on the other. The Anglican Church in Freiburg is a multicultural community where efforts are made to be as welcoming and inviting as possible and where everyone—and that's EVERY ONE— is hoped to feel at home with one another and with God."

Dorothy was also kind enough to record an interview for us at the Racial Justice Conference in Germany last year:

From St. Nicholas' chaplaincy in Helsinki, Sarah Tahvanainen (Office Manager) writes:

"This year's imagery of a 'Coat of Many Colours' really resonated with us at St Nicholas', as it reflects the joy and vibrancy that comes from belonging to a diverse church.  We adapted our All-Age service to make use of the excellent resources provided by CTBI and the Church of England so that our hearts and minds were focused on the important issues around racial justice.  I think it is important to hold these dedicated services because whilst our liturgy can't put a stop to racism it can have a profound effect on how we choose to live our lives and treat others."

Here are some photographs of the day:

There are a growing number of resources on our website and a YouTube channel featuring a Racial Justice playlist.

Please get involved in the conversation by letting us know of any resources to add in or stories of how you approach it in your chaplaincy.

communications@europe.anglican.org