Spofforth and Kirk Deighton Parish Magazine - July Issue

From the
Reverend Barbara
As I am writing this article, there is much in the media about the killing in America of
George Floyd, the 46 year-old black man and the consequent widespread protests and
accompanying violence around the world.
There has just been a toppling of the statue of Edward Colston, a notorious slave trader in
Bristol, and the strapline along with many protesters is, ‘Black Lives Matter.’ The toppling
of the statue made me think about, and be grateful for my home town – Hull or to give it
its ‘proper’ name Kingston Upon Hull and along with it came great pride for a former
Hullensian, William Wilberforce. In 1780, he became member of parliament for Hull, later
representing Yorkshire.
Born into a wealthy family, initially he had a rather self-indulgent lifestyle, but this
changed completely when he became an evangelical Christian. In 1790 he joined a leading
group known as the Clapham Sect. His Christian faith prompted him to become
interested in social reform, particularly the improvement of factory conditions in Britain.
We know him more for his lifelong and influential work in the abolition of the slave trade
and eventually slavery itself in the British empire.
The place of his birth, known as Wilberforce House in Hull (In the Museums Quarter –
well worth a visit), is a place I have visited numerous times. One of the many things on
display alongside shackles and drawings of the appalling conditions and facts around the
slave trade was a cameo. It was produced by Josiah Wedgewood with the words, “Am I
Not a Man and a Brother”? It became a catchphrase of many abolitionists and hit deeply
into my heart and still resonates with me today. We remember Wilberforce on 30th July as
you will see in the Holy Days section.
What does the Bible teach us about slavery and racism? Surprisingly neither Jesus, nor St.
Paul, nor any other Biblical figure is recorded as saying anything in opposition to the
institution of slavery.
Slavery was very much a part of life in Judea, Galilee, in the rest of the Roman Empire,
and elsewhere during New Testament times. Having said that however, there are
numerous passages in both the Old and New Testaments that I believe are anti-racist.
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Spofforth Parish Magazine July 2020