Church leaders all set for London walks to mark Slave Trade Act bicentenary
by Dan Wooding
March 20, 2007
LONDON, UK (ANS) -- The Archbishops of Canterbury, York, the West Indies, and Ghana are to join in a Walk of Witness in London to mark the bicentenary of the Act for the Abolition of the Slave Trade. Thousands of other people are also expected to take part in the event on Saturday, March 24th. According to a story in the London-based Church Times by Rachel Harden, it has been organized by the Church of England's Committee for Ethnic Anglican Concerns as part of Making our Mark, the Church's response to Churches Together in England's Set All Free campaign to mark the bicentenary.
"Three walks along different routes will converge in central London for an act of witness," she wrote. "The London strands will meet at Kennington Park in south London at 2 p.m. They will be joined by people from the national March of the Abolitionists, which set out from Hull on March 1st.
"One London group will gather at Whitehall. The second will start at Holy Trinity, Clapham Common; the church of the Clapham Sect of Evangelicals which included William Wilberforce MP, who saw the Bill through Parliament.
"The Whitehall group will meet at Whitehall Place at 11.30 a.m. to walk at 12.15 p.m. past the Houses of Parliament into Millbank, over Lambeth Bridge, and into Kennington Park. This part of the walk will include an act of remembrance at Victoria Gardens and Lambeth Bridge, led by the Archbishops. It will be partly in silence, but a group will sing or beat a lament.
"The Bishop of Southwark, Dr Tom Butler, will lead the walk from Holy Trinity at 1.15 p.m. In the church, from 11.45 a.m., there will be a screening of the Bible Society's film The Walk, which tells the story of Wilberforce."
Rachel Harden went on to say, "At Kennington Park, participants will be invited to sign the Anti-Slavery International declaration calling for measures to understand the Transatlantic slave trade better, redress its legacies, and end modern slavery. An act of worship, beginning at 2.15 p.m., will include an act of repentance. There will be readings from black writers, and a focus on freedom-fighters.
"When the March of the Abolitionists reached Lincoln last week, the Bishop of Lincoln, Dr John Saxbee, joined other walkers dressed in yoke and chains."
The march began in Hull, Wilberforce's birthplace, and seeks to draw attention to 21st-century slavery. The walkers included one of William Wilberforce's descendants. The Lifeline Expedition is organizing this walk, and a Bristol-Liverpool-London walk in the summer.
Action of Churches Together in Scotland confirmed this week that a Commemoration Walk to mark the Abolition of the Slave Trade Act will take place on Sunday 25 March 25 in Musselburgh.
Bristol Cathedral has organized a commemorative service on the same Sunday at 3 p.m. with the Council of Black Churches in Bristol.
"The Christian charity Stop the Traffik (STT) is holding a prayer vigil on 24 March to prepare for the Sunday," she concluded her story. "The charity is campaigning to stop human trafficking."
© 2007 ASSIST News Service, used with permission.
