George Floyd #SayHisName
We at Love Black Country stand with those hurting and affected by the brutal murder of George Floyd in America.
Mr Floyd, aged 46 years old, was an unarmed black man who died after a Minneapolis police officer kneeled on his neck for more than eight minutes. Floyd begged for his life whilst crying out “I can’t breathe” until he became unconscious and died in the street in full view of witnesses and a rolling mobile phone camera.
We at Love Black Country have been praying for you, and crucially, stand with you at this time. Silent support is not enough. We regret that we have been silent on issues that have caused much pain and heartache to our black brothers and sisters inside and outside of the church. Our heart is to do better and today we publicly add our voice to the cry against racism and injustice everywhere.
Jesus’ prayer in John 17 that The Church would be one, leaves no room for prejudice or segregation and our desire is to be the church that Christ prayed for.
We will say the names of the brutalised, oppressed and afflicted. We will cry aloud and we will stand together as One Church, united through our belief in Jesus Christ, our love for one another and our hope in God for a better tomorrow.
Open your mouth for the speechless, in the cause of all who are appointed to die. Open your mouth, judge righteously and plead the cause of the poor and needy.
(Proverbs 31:8-9 – NKJV)
Love Black Country have consistently engaged and continue to make efforts to expand our engagement with black and minority ethnic majority congregations. We as the church need to lead the way in the area of racial equality and cohesion as our greatest witness to the world is our love for each other.
In terms of going forward we have been laying down the groundwork to have more intentional conversations on a wider scale between Black, White and Asian church leaders around the issues of racial segregation. We want to create a space of learning, understanding and support.
#GeorgeFloyd #SayHisName #SayTheirNames #CryAloud #Together2020
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