In this Church House Blog, Engagement and Inclusion Officer, Vanessa Layfield, recalls how her first day at University taught her about not making assumptions about anyone based on the colour of their skin or choice of dress.
03 July 2020
By Vanessa Layfield, Engagement and Inclusion Officer
vanessa.layfield@chester.anglican.org
On my first day at University as a student social worker, the late Reverend Professor Dr Bernard Moss, (some of you may remember him) handed each of us two sheets of A4 paper. The first piece of paper had 12 photographs of individual people of various ethnic backgrounds, each wearing different forms of attire. The second piece of paper had a list of 12 occupations. Yes, our given task was to link the person in the photograph to their occupation. This was our first lesson in not making assumptions about anyone based on the colour of their skin or their choice of dress.
Imagine the scenario: You are a white member of clergy attending an interview for the position of a parish priest within a predominantly Asian community. After the interview, you’re told that despite your obvious skills, your face won’t fit. Think about it for a few minutes. How would that make you feel?
How would you feel as a white priest living in a predominantly black community, when parents bringing their baby for baptism ask for the ‘proper’ vicar to come and baptise their child – meaning your black colleague?
When you think of Jesus and his disciples do you picture a group of young white men? Well we can be pretty certain that their ethnicity was not White European as we depict in art, iconography and dramatisations! What does this thought mean for the message we share and who we think able to share it?
Today, my daughter and my 6-month-old black granddaughter went for a walk around our local mere. We met a number of people, all who seemed friendly and happy to chat, albeit from a distance! “Aren’t people friendly?” I said. “that’s because you look like them Mum” she replied. It brought me up short. Will they be as friendly and accepting of our little one as she grows up based upon no other information than the appearance of her skin?
How welcoming are we to those who identify as being from a black and minority ethnic community? As the Inclusion Officer for the Diocese of Chester, I pray that each of us will value and celebrate diversity. The mission of the Church is the mission of Christ, and I pray that we will live out each of the five marks of mission, two of which include:
To respond to human need by loving service and to transform unjust structures of society, to challenge violence of every kind and pursue peace and reconciliation.
Paul writes in his letter to the Galatians 3:28: "There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus."
If you would like to hear more about this topic, you are warmly invited to a Zoom webinar on 07 July at 2pm to hear stories told by our BAME clergy about how serving within a predominantly white community has affected them.
Join us online on 07 July 2020 to attend the 'Who is your neighbour?" event
