There is a one hundred million pound question facing the Church of England. Should this money be committed to an investment fund connected to slavery-related repair, or should it remain focused on parish life and gospel ministry today?
In this video I walk through what the Church Commissioners are proposing, why there has been a fresh wave of concern from MPs and peers as Sarah Mullally becomes Archbishop of Canterbury, and how we think about all of this biblically as Christians who care about both justice and the life of the local church.
We look honestly at the Church’s mixed history. Some wealth was entangled with the great evil of the transatlantic slave trade, and honesty and lament matter. But we also remember the abolitionist legacy within Anglicanism, and the faithful parish ministry that continues today across our nation in communities that are often stretched and struggling.
My aim is not to stir outrage, but to think carefully about repentance, stewardship, justice, and the gospel. What does it mean to handle the Master’s money for the Master’s purposes? And how do we respond wisely as the Faithful Remnant, without denial and without ideology?
