Thought for the Week - 17/10/2021

 

Dear Friends, 


Each year during Black History Month in the UK the Baptist Union of Great Britain along with the Jamaican Baptist Union highlights the Sam Sharpe Project by giving an annual lecture. Sam Sharpe was a Baptist deacon and preacher who was hanged in Montego Bay on 23rd May 1832 after initiating and leading a revolt for justice. Today he is seen as hero in Jamaica because of his legacy and his story which is one of a Christian liberator of his people. His actions were motivated by his faith and the reading of the Scriptures, and by engaging in ‘liberation from below’, Sam Sharpe demonstrated that true liberation comes when the oppressed and marginalised participate in their own bid for freedom and justice and not wait to have it granted to them by those who have power and authority. The project was set up in 2012 with the aims of encouraging churches and associations to engage with our contemporary multicultural society; supporting the Baptist Union Racial Justice Working Group; developing black and ethnic minority leaders; encouraging Baptist colleges, associations and churches to engage with black and Asian history, culture and theology; and the research of the historical and theological legacy of Sam Sharpe reflecting on the impact of this and other related stories for Baptist Christians in the 21st Century. Each October the Sam Sharpe Project hosts a lecture and this year it is being given by the CEO of Christian Aid, Amanda Khozi Mukwashi, and is entitled, ‘Setting the Captives Free – forging the paths to freedom’. She has devoted more than 25 years to working on poverty alleviation, tackling injustice and inequalities, working in both intergovernmental and non-governmental spaces, bringing in-depth experience from across the development sector, and leading development and humanitarian interventions in Africa, Asia and the Middle East, Latin America and the Caribbean. The lecture takes place on Thursday 21st October and will be delivered as a webinar starting at 7pm. For more information and to register to the join the webinar go to this address www.baptist.org.uk/samsharpe and follow the link.                                                                           

Grace and Peace


Neil


A prayer from Rage and Hope - 75 Prayers for a Better World

(Celebrating 75 years of Christian Aid)

Love incarnate, Fountain of Mercy and Justice in a world of inequity and pain may our actions be our prayer. We cry out for Shalom, fullness of life to all. Let the Spirit of Truth guide us. Let the Spirit of Love free us. Give us the compassion, courage and resolve to become the light, we seek that many may see life and dignity restored. Inspire us to embody a world without injustice and prejudice. Form us into channels of your love and peace. Let the river of justice and mercy flood our imperfect world quenching the thirst of parched souls and lands. Abide in us O Liberator that we become the Word so that the world may have Life, in all its abundance. Amen.                                      (Anderson Jeremiah)

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