‘Build up, build up, prepare the way, remove every obstruction from my people’s way.’ For thus says the high and lofty one who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy. (Isaiah 57 v14b).
The Racial Diversity Advisory Group met on Tuesday 10 October to continue its work on responding to the recommendations of From Lament to Action written by the Archbishops’ Anti-Racism Taskforce in 2021. The recommendations are broken down into five priority areas for action: participation (including appointments), education, training and mentoring, young people, and structures and governance.
This was the second meeting of the group and the first chaired by the new Bishop of Dorking, Right Reverend Paul Davies.
The Revd Canon Beverley Hunt, The Bishop’s Adviser on UKME/GMH issues, said of the progress: “By the grace of God, we are making progress, working towards our oneness in Christ Jesus. In the three years since From Lament to Action was published by the Archbishops’ Anti-Racism Taskforce, we developed our own Racial Diversity strategy for what we needed and wanted to do in Guildford Diocese. We created a charter for change in the form of a Covenant which churches are asked to adopt, sign and display in a prominent place. We developed and published a Anti-Racism Toolkit to give parishes and chaplaincies the tools needed to be anti-racist. This is a living document that will be updated as new tools are developed.
“Whilst we celebrate the progress made to embrace and celebrate Racial Diversity in our diocese, we recognise that there is still much more for us to do. Members of the Racial Justice Focus Group, now the Racial Diversity Advisory Group, have been developing resources for parishes and schools. They have amplified the voices of people in our diocese who have been willing to share their experiences. And they have changed processes and policies to remove barriers to racial diversity. We are the memory makers of today and the history makers of tomorrow. I’ve waited a long time for this and I am delighted to see what’s happening in our diocese. The Racial Diversity Advisory Group reports to Bishop’s Council, which ensures that the work of the group is known to the leadership of the diocese and supported by them.
Over the coming months the group will continue to work on responding to the recommendations of From Lament to Action. The focus of the group is:
- Establishing a baseline and set targets for increased diversity among the licensed clergy and lay ministers.
- Identifying and naming the realities and challenges of racial discrimination in our diocese.
- Supporting parishes in locating and addressing contested heritage in church buildings across our diocese.
The work and outputs from the Group will reach across the diocese, from parish and chaplaincies, to schools and diocesan staff.
Growing diversity is one of the three priorities of the Transforming Church Transforming Lives framework of the diocese, and Racial Diversity is one of its eight strategic areas. Our strategic objective is “That our cathedral, churches, schools, Church House and diocesan structures – including their leadership – reflect the racial diversity of their communities” and to achieve this we need to identify and remove barriers to increasing diversity in all areas of the diocese.