Forum for Peace UK trustee Revd Canon Andy Thompson on Christian obligations in the wake of unrest

Uxbridge Vicar and Forum for Peace UK trustee Revd Canon Andy Thompson speaks on Christian obligations in the wake of unrest

“Recently I was speaking to a youth group funded by the borough council. The young people were focusing on filmmaking and the use of social media. It was notable that attendance was lower than normal because of the fear of civil unrest. Many of the young people come from Global Majority Heritage background and, not for the first time, they were mindful of the colour of their skin.

On the street, rumours were flying around of impending trouble and some offices were closing early. My own wife (of Indian heritage) elected to stay at home because she simply felt safer there. The tension is palpable.

Conversations reflected a range of emotions from denial - “ignore the rioters, they will go away” - through to bewilderment and helplessness - “why are they doing this? Can’t we do something?”

Yet, the usual array of responses from community leaders and counter protests are not addressing the underlying issue. This is irrational fear driven by false narratives - whether it be the Islamization of the nation; a two-tiered police approach to riot control which is seen to favour Muslim communities and penalises the right wing; uncontrollable numbers of boat people will drain our resources. Thousands of people are feeling unheard and angry - legitimate concerns being actioned via the illegitimate actions of racist and hate filled violence. 

Dialogue is needed and this is where churches can engage in providing safe spaces in which the other can be fully heard and seen. This was the experience of a Liverpool Imam, Adam Kelwick, who earlier in the week was able to listen and reassure some protestors that the Muslim community in fact, shared some of the same concerns as the protestors. This led to a part de-escalation of confrontation and will hopefully lead to more conversation.

So where should the parish church be in this? The teaching of scripture, especially in 2 Corinthians 5, reminds Christians that our message is to be a ministry of reconciliation. This activity is and must be inclusive and universal in its impact, and the main tool is dialogue. In the Greek language of the New Testament, the word ‘dialogue’ embeds concepts such as reasoning with one another, and engaging in to-and-fro conversation all of which is hoped to lead to the ultimate goal which is reconciliation with God and with one another.

This is the ministry the local church should be embracing now. Facilitating dialogue with people who would not normally encounter each other. We need to break the echo chambers of social media and burst the isolating cultural bubbles which are a hallmark of so many of our communities. We are not naïve however. The reality is that extremists are not in a place to dialogue. Yet we need to seek those across the divide who are open to dialogue.

This should not be a one-off activity. It should be an ongoing investment in community relations and driven by the divine imperative to love our neighbour. And it needs to start young.

What is apparent from our observations of racism on the street, and watching the videos of the current riots is how young so many of them are. These are school children engaging in violence and hate speech. The defunding of youth clubs and the high percentage of young people who are not in education, employment or training has led to an erosion of opportunities for young people to positively encounter and engage with diversity.

To the churches, I say let’s recover the ministry of reconciliation as being so much more than evangelistic activity. That we deploy our buildings as safe spaces for the community to meet. That we deal with the unpalatable reality that church communities do harbour racism. That we invest our time in supporting interfaith activity and education in schools.

There are many more complex issues here to unpack: systemic poverty, sub-standard housing, over-stretched social services, and an “empire” mentality that is still alive and well and perpetuated through our schools and churches.

All these are massive issues, and underlying this is the necessity to confront hateful, bigoted racism. But we must start somewhere, and that starting place is but a small step - dialogue.”

Revd Canon Andy Thompson MBE is vicar of St Margaret’s Church Uxbridge and Trustee for the Forum for Peace UK. He has published multiple books on Christianity in the Arab world.