Scotland’s national service to mark Racial Justice Sunday was held on Sunday 11th September at Wellington Church of Scotland, Glasgow. This was the second year Minority Ethnic Christians Together in Scotland (MECTIS) and Action of Churches Together in Scotland (ACTS) had planned and led the service jointly which was a celebration of the growing relationship between the two bodies. Bishop Joe Aldred from Minority Ethnic Christian Affairs at Churches Together in England preached on the theme of Unity with a Purpose.
Bishop Joe encouraged the congregation to think of unity as something which the churches already possess not as something the churches need to seek. He argued that churches have used differences in structures as delaying tactics in living out the unity we have and that what really matters is relationships. Often we do not know each other as churches and that makes it impossible to love each other. Just as families are different, yet are held together through the bonds of parenthood, so the diversity of churches is to be celebrated, rooted in our common heritage as children of God.
The unity the churches possess is for one purpose, so that the world may believe in Jesus. (John 17:20ff) If the churches do not work together, bringing different gifts and insights of their traditions, then the churches limit the work of Christ.
Within the service the congregation were invited to share in the singing of an Urdu hymn and to sing in their own mother language the chorus of ‘Blessed Assurance, Jesus is mine’. The theme of Racial Justice Sunday 2011, ‘Created by God, treated like slaves’ against human trafficking was remembered in prayers led by members of the new Scottish Churches Anti-Human Trafficking Group.
The service was attended by leaders of MECTIS and ACTS Member Churches, and members of the Scottish Parliament and Glasgow City Council.
The Racial Justice Group is grateful that Bishop Joe has given permission for the full text of his sermon to appear on the website.
