We invite you to this year's Diversity Service in the Chester Cathedral on 30th September at 4.15. The service will focus on who is the stranger - the hospitality of Christ. The service will be led by Bishop Julie and guest speaker Revd Dr Anderson Jeremiah.
Mindful of the need to offer hospitality to all, including refugees, asylum seekers, and members of the Hong Kong Community, the service will have three elements, it will remember the past, celebrate the present and enable flourishing for the future. The service will also include the Women Seeking Asylum Together choir (WAST), which is a charity campaigning for the rights of women seeking asylum in the UK. Readings, poems, reflections and music will be presented by refugees, asylum seekers and members of the Diocesan Race and Ethnicity forum.
The speaker will be Revd Anderson Jeremiah, who lectures in Theology and Politics in the department of Politics, Philosophy and Religion at Lancaster University. He was ordained as a priest in the Church of South India (an Anglican Province), before moving to Edinburgh for his PhD studies. Having experienced overt and covert racism, he seeks to find ways to work for racial justice through his academic and church work.
The theme of the service 'Why should we welcome strangers?' has been chosen, because helping others and welcoming strangers is a holy thing to do. It’s one of the ways that God set apart the church in the world. Jesus compels us to welcome the stranger (Matthew 25:35). Welcome in this context involves both an attitude and action. It is our attitude that constantly needs to be assessed in light of the Gospel to ensure that we are carrying out the Lord’s commandment to love our neighbour as ourselves.
Vanessa Layfield, Engagement and Inclusion Adviser for the dicoese says, “The Bible calls us to encounter God and the face of Christ in the stranger, in those who we may see as different. This service challenges us to love the stranger, who is, after all, a pilgrim on a shared journey”.
All are welcome to celebrate Diversity at the service, which includes a BSL interpreter.
Refreshments will be provided after the service. To help us plan for catering for those present, booking for this FREE service is required via the Chester Cathedral website (Please ignore the button that says 'Buy Tickets' as there is no charge)