In 2021 the Church Buildings Council published guidance on ‘Contested Heritage in Cathedrals and Churches’. Historic England has defined contested heritage as objects or places that can be seen as ‘symbols of injustice and a source of great pain for many people’. The CBC guidance focuses particularly on the issue of tangible memorials of people or events connected with racism and slavery. Here at All Saints we believe our mission includes ensuring our church is a place of real welcome and solace for all people. Anyone who enters the building will notice a considerable number of memorials, grand or graceful, marble or brass or glass, fulsome or very simple in wording. Each life remembered will have touched others in some ways. In 2023 we therefore established a small working party, mainly of people who had worked on All Saints’ NADFAS church record and were familiar with the historical background to our memorials, to consider them in the light of the CBC guidance. We soon decided that direct profits from the work of enslaved people were not the only issue we had to face. Many of our memorials echo or reflect in miniature the expansion of Britain overseas, including involvement in trades that we now recognise to be exploitative. Though it is not for us to judge others yet it is our duty to be honest as far as we can. So we have produced a short 16-page booklet outlining some stories that lie behind some of our memorials. Further and deeper study is needed, but we were anxious to keep our account accessible and straightforward. We called our booklet ‘Forgive us our Trespasses’: A fresh look at All Saints’ memorials, and printed copies are available in the church. A digital (PDF) copy with a list of sources is included on the ‘Notice sheets’ page here.
At the start of the year we decided to end our links with St James’ Hospital, Lesotho, which we had helped for about 30 years. But we wanted to keep our vision outward, practical and useful, and providence brought a new and worthwhile project into view – the African Children School in The Gambia. The Gambia is a small and narrow country, mainly Muslim, bordering the Gambia river in West Africa. At All Saints we first heard of the African Children School there when Revd John Baxter (once a curate here) helped us out during Revd Maria’s sabbatical in 2017. He and Dorothy had discovered this Christian school initiative in 2001 when the headmaster, Revd Richard Jackson, shared his vision with them, and they have been sponsoring it ever since. What was then a small school in rented premises now takes over 200 pupils in a permanent building in Brusubi, and has developed an excellent reputation. The children are of all races and religions, though the ethos is Christian. At present the school takes pre-school and primary pupils, preparing them for senior secondary schools. John and Dorothy have established a UK-registered charity, BACSECT (Baxters African Children School Educational Charitable Trust, reg. no. 1187921) which helps with purchase of equipment, furniture, books and even shoes when needed, and also supports staff salaries if necessary. As they say, to see so many children develop and progress through education brings real joy. Our contributions will be made to BACSECT, avoiding the problems of sending money overseas and enabling Gift Aid. Revd John and Dorothy visited us on 29th October and gave us a fascinating description, with pictures, of how the School is developing. This is a very worthwhile project.
We believe in inclusive Church – a church which celebrates and affirms every personand does not discriminate. We will continue to challenge the church where it continues to discriminate against people on the grounds of disability, economic power, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, learning disability, mental health, neurodiversity, or sexuality. We believe in Church which welcomes and serves all people in the name of Jesus Christ; which is scripturally faithful; which seeks to proclaim the Gospel afresh for each generation; and which, in the power of the Holy Spirit, allows all people to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Jesus Christ.
