The Rector Writes…

“As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love.” John 15:9

As a little boy and newly arrived immigrant arriving in Johannesburg in 1971, I found myself not only in a different country but in a different world. And whilst the countryside was big and colourful and exciting to explore, the world, by contrast, was much less sophisticated – it was a world clearly delineated along racial lines. There was black and there was white.

Park benches were marked either for whites or non-whites. The term ‘non-whites is of course a negative which emphasises that you are either ‘in’ or ‘out’. The ideology of Apartheid supported the notion that white people are superior to all other racial groups. The fact that I’m even using the term ‘racial group’ is uncomfortable for me because it is a term used to segregate one ethnic minority from another. When you fill in forms, as we all did recently for the National Census, we are asked how we would describe ourselves. Those words, ‘How do you describe yourself?’ gives power to the individual to determine for themselves how they wish to be identified. The apartheid system did no such thing. Your ethnic status was determined for you, and this, in turn, determined what kind of future you could have. It determined which public toilet you could use, which entrance to use in a public building, which ambulance you called for in an emergency – and crucially, which school you were allowed to go to and therefore which curriculum you were taught. The whole of life was divided up between black and white.

Laws were enacted that rigorously reinforced codes of behaviour to support the Apartheid system. The ‘Immorality Act’ meant that it was illegal for a white person to fall in love with a non-white person. This was very strictly policed. White children were taught at school to understand that God had created the races differently – black people were inferior to white people – this was ordained by God. Theology and a particular understanding of God was the foundation rock on which Apartheid was built. So, congregations in churches were separated. There were white churches and black churches. White congregations and black congregations. Rarely did these two racial groups mix in church. Though I am proud to be able to say that the Anglican Church, under the leadership of such Bishops as Desmond Tutu and others, challenged this heresy at every turn. And this is the point. Racism is heresy. It inherently denies the true nature of God himself.

St Paul, the Church’s first theologian, tears down the barrier between Jew and Gentile – neither tribe exists before God. In Christian understanding, there is only one family that encompasses the whole of humanity. Whatever skin colour you are born with, whatever shape your nose or eyes happen to be or language you speak at home – we are all God’s children.

The Church of England has recently issued a report on racism within the culture of the Church itself. From Lament to Action calls for a more diverse profile of senior appointments to be made. Opportunities to affirm those from different backgrounds are now at the forefront of all diocesan policies and this is to be welcomed. It is a reminder to all of us that to abide in God’s love is to be held and to be valued by God on equal terms.

God Bless Mark