by John Root, Psephizo
‘Being Built Together Volume 1: A Reference on Racial Justice in the Church of England’ (hereafter BBT) is a ‘book of readings and testimonies about the work of racial justice and the experiences of people of colour in the Church of England’ according to the Church’s leading administrator, William Nye. It includes some short basic ‘set piece’ sections from the Archbishops’ Commission for Racial Justice: Theological Reflections, an Appeal to the Church of England, a Summary of Key Recommendations; pen portraits of the twenty-three minority ethnic senior office holders, plus longer and at times powerful personal reflections by several of them; Lord Boateng’s final address to General Synod; and a mosaic of other opinion pieces or information sections.
A recent quotation regarding geopolitics struck me as being intriguingly appropriate for the Church of England’s attitude to race: ‘amateurs talk strategy, professionals talk logistics’. The document being reviewed shows both sides. It would be unfair to call the main actors involved here as ‘amateurs’, but there is a focus on broad issues of ‘strategy’, and a lack ‘professionalism’ in neglecting ‘logistics’—carrying through the everyday details of how the church ministers in a multi-ethnic society .