Welcome Group

I was hungry and you gave me food. I was thirsty and you gave me drink. I was a stranger and you welcomed me. Matthew 25: v 35

The focus of the Welcome Group is to ensure that everyone receives a warm and inclusive welcome in our church. Initially the group was formed to reflect on how we, as a church community, could respond to the injustices highlighted by the Black Lives Matter movement.  The discussion has widened to include all forms of discrimination including race, sexuality, gender and disability.

Over the next year we are looking to:

• invite guest preachers to preach at our services at St. Marys. Dr. Daniel Eshun, Chaplain at Roehampton University came in June and Olufunke Ogbede from the Diocesan Minority Ethnic Anglican Concerns Committee came in July
• create a short welcome video for our website, with a variety of voices from within our congregation
• acknowledge, understand and learn from the church’s history of discrimination in order to encourage change
• involve our youth group by encouraging their input, for example in Black History month in October and Women’s History month next March.

Anyone interested in becoming involved in the Welcome group or wishing to contribute to our work, please contact [email protected]

Please pray for this initiative and the work of this group.