The Diocese of Guildford has launched a powerful exhibition during Black History Month, that will showcase some of the diocese’s black leaders as well as encourage the next generation of leaders.
The portrait exhibition- Here I Am- will initially be displayed at Holy Trinity and St Mary’s, Guildford from Sunday 12 October- Sunday 19 October before moving to St Martin’s Epsom from Monday 20 October- Sunday 26 October. It will then be dislayed at St Andrew's Cobham from Monday 27 October- Sunday 2 November and then St Saviour's Guildford from Sunday 23 November- Sunday 30 November.
The exhibition has been led by the Diocese’s Racial Diversity Enabler, Umair Asif, who joined the team in March to help deliver a strategy on improving racial diversity and address the proposals that arose from the Lament to Action report.
The exhibition features clergy, Revd Dr Moni Babatunde, associate minister at St Andrew’s Cobham, Revd Dr Oluwapelumi Adeyemi minister at St Francis’ Church Guildford and Revd Janet Williams, a curate from St John’s Stoke, as well as an interview from Beauty Adeson a member of the Church House team.
The portraits will be presented on large canvases and include a QR code where people can scan and watch the full interviews. The interviews cover a range of topics including their path to ordination, dealing with imposter syndrome, their gifts and different perspectives, as well as an acceptance that attitudes are changing and diversity is improving in the diocese and the wider church.
Racial Diversity Enabler, Umair Asif said: “This exhibition is a powerful reminder of the importance of representation and seeing people who look like you in senior ministry and leadership positions. We are currently developing a vocations day in early December which will be aimed at encouraging more people from UKME/GMH backgrounds to explore their calling to ordained ministry.”
Bishop Paul wrote the following reflection for Black History Month.
"It was 30 years ago that I first became aware of what racial injustice really looks like. Archbishop Desmond Tutu visited my theological college on 4 February 1995. I remember the date because it had such an impact on me. He came to us in thanksgiving for the way in which his formation in England had re-programmed the way he was taught to think in South Africa. I remember him telling us the story of Professor Christopher Evans (Kings College, London), taking him into a London bank to open an account. Desmond felt uncomfortable that Christopher wouldn’t allow white people to jump in front of him in the queue. It was the beginning of a long journey of opening his eyes to what being made in the image of God really means and looks like. His phrase ‘the Rainbow People of God’ had such a profound influence on me that I asked the person who offered to make my ordination stole to incorporate it into the design.
"Thirty years on, I repent of the reality that there is still so much work to do. This is the reason that I am so thrilled that one of our three priorities in the Diocese of Guildford is ‘growing in diversity’. This does, of course, mean diversity in all its forms. This exhibition, however, focusses on our racial diversity. Our GMH sisters and brothers are a precious part of the treasure of this diocese. Each one enriches our life and helps us to grow towards that vision of the kingdom in the Book of Revelation which speaks of ‘the great multitude that no one could count from every nation, all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb’.
"This is an opportunity to say to all our GMH sisters and brothers that we love them and that we couldn’t imagine the church or its mission and ministry without them. I earnestly pray that our diversity as a diocese will continue to grow that it might increasingly reflect the Kingdom of God."
Find more Black History Month resources
If you would like to host this exhibition at your church, please contact Umair Asif.