Churches across the nation gathered on 25 May 2021 for a national ecumenical service Doing Justice: A National Service of Reflection on the Anniversary of the murder of George Floyd. The service, initiated by Churches Together in Britain and Ireland, aired at 7pm on CTBI’s Youtube channel and can now also be viewed on their website (and below).
BBC Radio 4 broadcast the service at 8.10am on Sunday 30 May for its Sunday Worship programme. The BBC Local Radio Sunday Service on Sunday 30 May was also a special service led by Richard Reddie from CTBI, broadcast at 8.00am on all 39 BBC Local Radio Stations.
The ecumenical service featured contributions from many leaders and churches, including:
- The Archbishop of York – the Right Revd Stephen Cotterill;
- Pastor Agu Irukwu – CTE Pentecostal President and senior pastor of RCCG’s Jesus House;
- His Eminence Archbishop Angaelos, CTE Orthodox President and Archbishop of London, Coptic Orthodox Church;
- Lynn Green from the Baptist Union of Great Britain;
- Bishop Paul Hendricks, the Catholic Auxiliary Bishop of Southwark and a trustee of CTE;
- Pastor Matthew Ashimolowo from Kingsway International Christian Centre;
- The Bishop of London – the Rt Revd Sarah Mullally;
- The Bishop of Dover – Rt Revd Rose Hudson-Wilkin;
- Revd Les Isaac from the Ascension Trust and Street Pastors Network
Watch the service
Speaking at the service, the Venerable and Rev Dr Rosemarie Mallett, Archdeacon of Croydon, said “Now is the time for change, and to not only say it, but to actively speak up… and not stop doing so until we see the changes that need to happen.”
“Will our anger and frustration be channeled into tangible steps towards justice and fairness for all? Or will we continue to crucify God in the way we treat one another? Love is a matter of choice – will we remain the same?” shared the Rt Rev Dr John Perumbalath, Bishop of Bradwell.
“A year on, the death of George Floyd remains a megaphone declaring the inhumanity of racism and injustice. A year on, God continues to hold up a mirror to his church, and invites us to become people that delight his heart by sharing his kindness, his justice, and his righteousness,” shared Rev Lynn Green, General Secretary of Baptist Union of Great Britain – one of CTE’s national Member Churches.
And in his stirring address, Rev Les Isaac from the Ascension Trust and Street Pastors said: “Silence in the face of evil itself is evil – God will not hold us guiltless. Not to speak is to speak, not to act is to act.
“I want to remind us that the kingdom of Jesus is about the whole person; ‘I have come’, Jesus said, ‘that you may have life and have it more abundantly’ – that’s the message of Jesus, that’s the message of the kingdom of God – that includes justice, that includes peace, that includes equality, that includes dignity – but it also includes salvation and hope and forgiveness of sin and eternal life.
“As a Christian I’m called not just to pray, but I’m called to action. Faith without works is dead.”
The service was initiated by Churches Together in Britain and Ireland (CTBI), a sister ecumenical organisation of CTE that encourages Christian unity across Britain and Ireland, and includes churches of many traditions and denominations.
Visit CTBI’s website to download a copy of the order of service.