BRITISH BAPTISTS TO GO TO JAMAICA WITH SLAVE TRADE APOLOLGY
Monday 19 May 2008
A delegation representing British Baptists is travelling to Jamaica this Thursday (22 May) to apologise to Jamaican Baptists for the transatlantic slave trade.
During their stay (22 to 29 May) the delegation will have opportunities to meet with Jamaican Baptists and worship in their churches as well as seeing some of the locations which are inextricably bound up with their history. Plans are in place for the team to share in two worship experiences on Sunday, May 25 at which time space will be given for the Apology to be made and a plaque to be handed over.
The trip follows the commemoration of the bicentenary of the passing of the Act abolishing the Slave Trade in the British parliament in 1807. Some disappointment was expressed that British Baptists had not offered an apology for the slave trade during the Baptist World Alliance annual gathering in Ghana and this led to a number of letters in the Baptist Times. As a result there was a major discussion at the November session of the Baptist Union Council. This became a profound experience for Council members and resulted in a unanimously agreed resolution offering an ‘apology to God and to our brothers and sisters for all that has created and still perpetuates the hurt which originated from the horror of slavery.’
For each one of the delegation travelling to Jamaica, the Apology and trip holds a special significance:
The Revd Jonathan Edwards, Baptist Union of Great Britain (BUGB) General Secretary:
“The decision to offer an apology for the transatlantic slave trade was an historic moment for the Baptist Union Council. In the statement that was agreed at that meeting it was clearly stated that this was just the start of a journey. Taking the apology to Jamaica in person seemed to many people a vital step on the journey and it is my privilege to participate in it. I very much look forward to meeting our brothers and sisters in the Jamaican Baptist Union and hope that we will learn a great deal more about one another through the week that we share together.”
The Revd Dr Alistair Brown, General Director of BMS World Mission:
“Going to Jamaica is very important for me. BMS worked in Jamaica among slaves and stood with them against slavery. But Baptists in Britain were slower than we should have been to take a decisive stand, and I’m very sorry about that. It matters now to stand shoulder to shoulder with Caribbean sisters and brothers, acknowledging failures and rejoicing in Christian fellowship.”
The Revd Wale Hudson-Roberts, BUGB Racial Justice Coordinator:
“African and Caribbean Baptists were delighted by the Apology that came from Council in November 2007. This was more than just a timely apology, as the UK was commemorating the bicentenary of the abolition of the slave trade act; it has also been a theologically powerful act. The truth has set many Africans and Caribbeans free. Emerging from the Apology is now a willingness and enthusiasm to work towards addressing, and strategically challenging the legacies of the transatlantic slave trade with the hope that one day all Baptists will belong to a family that is free from prejudice and racism.”
Ms Pat White from Brixton Baptist Church representing the London Baptist Association and Black and Ethnic Minority Ministers’ Forum and Churches on the trip:
“Going to Jamaica with the Apology will help Black and White Baptists recognise and understand the legacy of slavery today. My prayer is that the visit denotes trust, wisdom, reconciliation and true koinonia between the Baptist Union of Jamaica and BUGB.”
Karl Johnson, General Secretary of the Jamaica Baptist Union is looking forward to meeting the delegation. “The Jamaica Baptist Union received the news of the Apology made by our sisters and brothers in the Baptist family in the United Kingdom with openness, humility and appreciation. For years we have felt that such an action was necessary and have indeed encouraged them to consider same; it therefore goes without saying that we are grateful to God that in God’s own time and in the lifetime of some who were part of the original request in 1994, it has come to pass. We look forward to receiving the team in Christian love and hospitality and pray that the visit will underscore our sense of oneness and common journey.”
Baptist World Alliance General Secretary, Neville Callam, who originates from Jamaica, has also affirmed the trip by British Baptists and the Apology that they are giving. “We thank God for the Apology issued by British Baptists in relation to the slavery and the slave trade. As members of the body of Christ, we treasure the solidarity we have in Christ and we know how to respond when fellow Christians admit to wrongdoing, if even by their forebears. We know the joy and the blessing of forgiveness. With this, true healing is possible and liberation becomes the common gain of everyone involved.”
