Dear siblings in Christ,

It is a joy to see that the daylight is lasting a bit longer and slowly the season is starting to change. It makes me smile to see the snow drops and the bulbs beginning to come up out of the ground. However, the cold weather is still with us, and we can only dream of warmer days at the moment. The month of February can feel strange for some of us after the busyness of December and the return to normal activities in January.

February in the UK is LGBT+ history month and in the USA, it is Black History Month. Sunday 9^th February 2025 was Racial Justice Sunday in the Methodist Church, the theme of which was ‘Coat of Many Colours’, set by Churches Together https://ctbi.org.uk/resources/racial-justice-sunday-9-february-2025/ . Racial Justice Sunday was first established in 1995, following the tragic racist murder of Black teenager Stephen Lawrence in April 1993. Considering what we are called to remember this month and our Methodist Connexional theme this year, ‘Learn to do right, seek justice and defend the oppressed’, let us reflect together about racial injustice and our response.

Churches Together in Britian and Ireland decided on the theme of ‘Coat of Many Colours’ to encourage us to recognise and celebrate the increasing diversity that exists in the churches in Britain and Ireland. Throughout the Bible there are many narratives that speak of diversity. Richard Reddie, Director of Justice and Inclusion, Churches Together in Britain and Ireland selects three verses for us to reflect on ethnic diversity as part of God’s plan: ‘house of prayer for all nations’ (Isaiah 56:7), the events at Pentecost (Acts 2) and the multitude …from every nation (Revelation 7:9-17), which refer to ‘every tribe and nation’.
Each of these verses remind us to celebrate the richness of diversity that breathes life into our churches and reveals how much God’s love is for all.

The ’Coat of Many Colours’ resources provide us with much to reflect and pray about, however it is Minister Shermara Fletcher-Hoyte’s reflection that speaks to the heart of what God calls us to do. Let’s hear from Shermara. ‘Scripture speaks to us not in whispers but in thunderous proclamations about justice and inclusion. Consider Peter, that rock of the early church, brought to his knees by a vision that shattered his understanding of who belongs in God’s family. When that sheet descended from heaven filled with animals he had always considered ‘unclean’, God wasn’t simply giving him a lesson about dietary laws (Acts 10). God was dismantling the very walls Peter had built around his heart – walls that mirror the barriers we still erect today between races, cultures and communities.’

At the end of Shermara discourse she encourages us, not to let Racial Justice Sunday or I could add in LGBT+ history month be a time when we just reflect but instead embrace God’s call for transformative action.  Shermara calls us to act, and I leave you with her words for action. ‘The same God who chose to be born among the oppressed, who called Moses to confront Pharaoh, who expanded Peter’s vision of community, who sent Jesus to break down every dividing wall of hostility that God is calling us now. The question is not whether God is speaking, but whether we will finally listen and act. Let it be the day when reflection gives birth to action, when prayers become prophetic, when worship becomes witness. For in the end, we will be judged not by the eloquence of our words about justice, but by the evidence of our work for justice.’

Yours faithfully