The Archbishop of York, Stephen Cottrell, has spoken of his commitment to racial justice in a video 'reflection' (scroll down) for the Diocese of York on Racial Justice Sunday, 13th February 2022.
The short video message is the Archbishop's monthly contribution to a weekly series by a range of contributors drawn from the clergy and lay people of the Diocese of York and usually reflecting on a bible passage for church members and followers.
Telling the story of an East London church which embraced a large community of Bulgarians, and citing the Church of England's recent report on racial justice, 'From Lament to Action', the Archbishop says, "The biblical vision is, is of a church where every nation, every tribe, every people, and every language, is gathered into God's kingdom, and in this diocese of York we are called, as we Live Christ’s story, to be part of that all-embracing, beautiful, diverse story.
"Therefore as part of From Lament to Action, we are setting up a racial justice group. It is part of our commitment... to be a church of missionary disciples, which is younger and more diverse.
"This group will promote racial justice across the diocese. My hope and prayer is that as they begin to do their work, we will see an increase in vocations, ordained and lay, from people of much greater diversity, that as a diocese we will begin to look more like the communities we serve, identifying the barriers that prevent us from being the diverse church God is calling us to be.
"Please, join me in prayer today for racial justice."
The Diocese of York's representative body or Synod resolved in July 2021 to form a Racial Justice Group; co-chairs have been appointed and the group is currently recruiting members and preparing its agenda for its initial meetings.