About the From Lament to Action: Resourcing Inclusion course
This study and reflection day with The Rev Canon Dr Chigor Chike will explore how we deal with racisim, diversity and inclusion within our congregations and local communities within the context of the Church of England’s “From Lament to Action” report.
The day will consider the following questions:
How has the Christian tradition been used to support racism?
How can the church and its people come to a fuller understanding that racism is a problem for everyone, and how can we challenge systems and structures that are racist?
What are effective strategies for congregations and communities for anti-racism?
What are micro-aggressions and how might we address them?
How does the Church of England think of its identity in relation to this issue?
What can parishes comprised of people who are solely white do?
Where does modern-day slavery fit into all this?
What skills or ideas are beneficial for clergy working in diverse area?
About the course leader
The Revd Canon Dr Chigor Chike, a Sarum College Trustee, is the vicar of Emmanuel Church, Forest Gate, London – an inner-city Church of England church serving a vibrant, diverse community in East London. Dr Chike’s social justice work includes a project for homeless people and refugees in Birmingham and London. The UK organisations he leads n the UK include the Anglican Minority Ethnic Network, a national network of clergy and lay people in the Church of England working for the inclusion of Minority Ethnic people in the Church’s structure as well as in London called REIN (Rights & Equalities In Newham) and Faithful Friends, a London-based interfaith project.
He is a Visiting Lecturer at the University of Roehampton where he teaches Christian Mission, Pentecostalism and World Religions. He has published several books and articles on religion and social justice issues, including Voices from Slavery, based on lives of four Africans who were enslaved in the UK during the transatlantic slave trade. Other publications include African Christianity in Britain, a ground-breaking work on the nature of the faith of African Christians and A Common Humanity which explores the values of Muslims engaged in interfaith work.
Dr Chike holds a PhD in theology from the University of Birmingham, an MTh in Applied Theology from Oxford University and an MA from the University of Wales Trinity Saint David.
