THE first female archdeacon of colour in the Church of England, the Ven. Wilhelmina (Mina) Smallman, has said that the Archbishops\u2019 Taskforce\u2019s report on racism in the Church \u201creads really well\u201d. If, however, the Church failed to put its recommendations into practice, she said, \u201cI can\u2019t see that any person of colour will trust that anything will ever change.\u201d<\/p>\n
The report, From Lament to Action, was published on Thursday of last week \u2014 Stephen Lawrence Day \u2014 by the Archbishops\u2019 Anti-Racism Taskforce (News, Leader Comment, 23 April). It brings together 47 previously ignored \u201cactions\u201d from reports published over more than three decades.<\/p>\n
In their response to the report, the Archbishops of York and Canterbury acknowledge that churchgoers of colour had been \u201cbullied, overlooked, undermined and excluded from the life of the Church, from the family of God\u201d.<\/p>\n
The report was dedicated to the memory of Mrs Smallman\u2019s two daughters, Nicole Smallman and Bibaa Henry, who were murdered last summer (News, 19 June 2020). Their funeral was conducted by the only black bishop in the House of Bishops: the Bishop of Dover, the Rt Revd Rose Hudson-Wilkin.<\/p>\n
Read it all<\/a>.<\/p>\n Implement race proposals or lose trust, says C of E\u2019s first female archdeacon of colour https:\/\/t.co\/jV1anB8uzW<\/a><\/p>\n — Church Times (@ChurchTimes) April 30, 2021<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n \n