Sabbatical Stories: How it all began
Much as I loved the first series of BBC’s clerical sitcom, Rev, it largely overlooked one major development in East London in recent years, this being the dramatic growth in the number of African Christians worshipping in our churches.
A phenomenon that the BNP would claim to be a threat to Christian Britain has actually been quietly revitalising the church here, to the point where a good number of Anglican congregations have changed and grown out of all recognition.
Of course, the term ‘African Christians’ could cover a huge range from Egyptians to Afrikaners but, in general, it has been those arriving from former British colonies in sub-Saharan Africa who have made the greatest impact. A good number of Nigerians, Ghanaians, Ugandans, Kenyans and others have come to East London having often been staunch Anglicans at home. They and their children and grandchildren have not always found it easy to relate to the Church of England and its ways, but many - including a growing number of clergy – have contributed enormously to a renaissance in East London’s churches.
This contribution has not always been honoured or appreciated, while at the same time some have been keen to highlight the negative issues that can accompany rapid demographic change. I decided, therefore, to spend part of my sabbatical looking at the experiences of African Christians in East London from a number of perspectives.
I wanted to listen to the stories of those who have been in the UK for some time, both Anglicans and others, as well as visiting Ghana and Kenya to learn from the people there, including church leaders.
The stories of my visits to Kenya and Ghana are for later posts, but I want to say first-of-all that my starting-point in this journey was Chigor Chike’s excellent book, African Christianity in Britain. Chigor is a priest working in Newham and, in this book, wrote the first significant study of the impact of African Christians in the UK.
All this is not to ignore the contribution of other ethnic minorities to the life of this country. In East London, we have a remarkably wide range of cultures represented in our congregations and among our clergy. Nevertheless, my aim this Summer was to learn from the particular experiences of black Africans, who make up the fastest-growing group in our churches today.
If you want to follow this subject with me in greater detail, I can do no better to recommend that you read Chigor Chike’s book. If you would like to email me about your own observations and experiences, please do (to a.westham@chelmsford.anglican.org ) or add your comments at the foot of this blog.
