African and Caribbean leaders call churches to community action

Around 100 leaders from across the spectrum of African and Caribbean churches shared inspirational stories and spurred each other on to work together for the good of their communities at the conference, entitled 'The Black Church from Windrush to Obama: changing church, changing society'.

Labour MP Stephen Timms and Conservative MP Desmond Swayne both addressed the gathering to stress the importance of engagement.

Timms paid tribute to the work of Dr Albert Odulele’s church, Glory House, in Barking, and Swayne compared the current challenge for the church with the mandate to Esther in the Old Testament: “and who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for just such a time as this.”

His comments were echoed by other speakers throughout the day, who told personal stories of how the church has been transforming society for the better – from initiatives like Street Pastors to Christians getting involved in the arts, politics and social work.

Eustace Constance, Operations Manager for Ascension Trust Street Pastors who runs the Street Pastors Southwark and Hackney branches, said: “There are excellent people in every community doing good, churches pulling together.

“Given the mechanism, people will engage with their community. People want hope, and if there’s one institution that’s in place to give that, it has to be the church.”

But there was also widespread agreement that the church can and must do more when it comes to the urgent tasks of social action, evangelisation and bringing God back into the public square.

Angela Sarkis, CBE, Chief Executive of the Nurture Group Network, said the church needs to take social responsibility event more seriously, not only for its own community, but also for the wider community.

“We are living in a time of huge challenge,” she said.

“We cannot sit on our laurels – and let’s be honest, some of us are sitting materially very comfortably, spiritually very comfortably – God calls us to rise up and to be active ambassadors in this land.

“The Black Church from Windrush to Obama: changing church, changing society,” was hosted by the Evangelical Alliance, Churches Together in England and the New Testament Church of God and sponsored by Wesley Owen.