“As people of faith, let’s commit to standing against racism and discrimination”
At our Annual Meeting in April 2024, we launched a handbook to equip church members with an understanding of diversity and inclusion, and to support actions at the local Church level to improve inclusion and work towards racial justice through faith.
We hope it will offer a means to help congregation members to reflect on diversity, discrimination and the role of Christians in building a unifying world through our churches.
You can use the handbook to
learn about racism, how to recognise it, and how it affects all of us and the society in which we live
support learning discussions in your Church that bring people together in knowledge
identify actions you can take in your Church to transform how you live as a community of faith that rejects racism in all its forms
Webinars
We are planning a series of webinars to explore how best to use this resource. Find out more here.
Get your copy
Please get in touch to get your own copy for £5/€6 + postage costs by contacting us at info@irishchurches.org.
If you would prefer, you can download a pdf for printing here: “From Every Nation? A Handbook for a congregation’s journey from welcome to belonging”
Key Contacts within our member churches:
Please contact the below for more information on the handbook for your church:
Presbyterian Church: Rev Helen Freeburn hfreeburn@presbyterianireland.org
Church of Ireland: Lucy Michael lucy@lucymichael.ie
Methodist Church: Rev David Clements david.clements@irishmethodist.org
Catholic Church: Gary Carville gary.carville@iecon.ie
Salvation Army: Jennifer Laurent–Smart (Equality & Diversity Manager) Jennifer.Laurent-Smart@salvationarmy.org.uk
Moravian: Rev Dr Livingstone Thompson Livingstone.thompson@moravian.org.uk
Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) in Ireland – email: office@quakers.ie
Other member churches: info@irishchurches.org
You might also be interested in:
You might consider joining the Churches of Sanctuary movement as part of this journey to belonging. It provides a framework, and a network which can provide colleagues along the way of the journey through three stages: learn, embed, share.
Learn: become familiar with the legal terms and processes around seeking sanctuary, and other issues related to asylum and migration; explore and discuss as a community how hospitality and sanctuary towards those seeking refuge may be expressed in your context;
Embed: ensure that this awareness becomes a dynamic part of the life of the faith community; look for ways to extend welcome, friendship and practical support; make this awareness part of the community’s decision–making processes; find ways to include the voices of those seeking sanctuary;
Share: document and share your experiences on your website and social media, via your newsletter, or other media; encourage other communities within your network/denomination to join in the Sanctuary journey as well. We particularly encourage faith communities to mark Refugee Week each year in some way.