<\/p>\n
Church of England<\/a> clergy will be encouraged to promote antiracism in sermons as senior figures unlock thousands of pounds in funding to promote diversity initiatives in London.<\/p>\n Church Commissioners, the body that manages C of E assets, is funding the Diocese of London<\/a>, which covers more than 400 parishes and 18 boroughs north of the River Thames, to boost inclusion work as part of the three-year Racial Justice Priority (RJP) project.<\/p>\n RJP is separate from the \u00a3100m that the C of E has vowed to put aside for Project Spire<\/a>, a commitment to create a \u201cfund for healing, repair and justice\u201d to address its historic links to the enslavement of African peoples.<\/p>\n But the \u00a3730,000 funding for RJP represents a significant statement of intent from the church at a time when conservative figures have claimed Project Spire diverts from \u201ccore obligations\u201d<\/a>.<\/p>\n The Right Rev Dr Anderson Jeremiah, the Bishop of Edmonton and the Diocese of London\u2019s lead bishop on racial justice, said diverse congregations reflected the Anglican presence in Africa, Asia and the Caribbean as a colonial legacy, and the church had to create a \u201csense of belonging for all\u201d.<\/p>\n He said of RJP: \u201cWe want racial justice to inform our missional, theological and church practices \u2013 treating each other as created in the image of God is central to our wider Christian faith.<\/p>\n \u201cWhether it\u2019s Bible studies, baptismal preparations, confirmation preparations or sermons, what we would like to actively promote is racial justice as one of the ways of engaging with the challenges of the church, through resources that can be used in these spaces.\u201d<\/p>\n RJP funding will be used to support educational initiatives, in churches and C of E schools, about church buildings\u2019 links to transatlantic slavery.<\/p>\n Churches will also be funded to support refugees and asylum seekers, and be expected to promote diversity in leadership, while unconscious bias training for parochial parish councils will be \u201ctheologically informed\u201d, Lisa Adjei, the head of RJP for the diocese, said.<\/p>\n Insiders say RJP is designed to fund community cohesion work while \u201calways respecting parishes\u2019 autonomy\u201d. It follows 2021\u2019s From Lament to Action<\/a> report, which called for urgent \u201cculture change\u201d to tackle \u201cracial sin\u201d.<\/p>\n Adjei said antiracist practices in education, representation, structures and governance had been identified as key areas for RJP, alongside advocacy, which meant the church \u201cspeaking and standing in solidarity\u201d on issues such as youth safety, health inequalities and migration.<\/p>\n \u201cThis comes back to our theology, to who we are as the church, which is about loving our neighbour,\u201d Adjei said.<\/p>\n \u201cWhether the far right were present or not, we would still have an intention to care for the asylum seeker, the refugee and the migrant. What we want to do is allow people to see that faith and racial justice live side by side.\u201d<\/p>\n Last week, the new archbishop of Canterbury, Sarah Mullally, defended Project Spire<\/a> as being \u201crooted in the Christian call to repentance, reconciliation and, above all, hope\u201d, after Conservative party critics claimed the fund would divert cash away from local parishes.<\/p>\n