Thanks to Reverend Esther Akam for joining us at our 11am Service last Sunday and for delivering a thoughtful and informative sermon to mark Black History Month 2024. Esther’s sermon both opened up her personal experiences growing up in post-independence Nigeria, and challenged us at Hinde Street to consider the ways in which we can better welcome and encourage black participation and leadership in our church.
In harmony with the theme of this year’s British Black History Month, Esther also reflected on how who it is that tells our stories and narrates our histories matters just as much as the fact that they are told and narrated in the first place. This is why we are all encouraging the act of ‘Reclaiming Narratives’ this October.
Throughout the service, we also came together in song with hymns that originate from Eswatini, Northern Ghana, and South Africa. Thanks to Helen Cornick for leading us in song and worship.
If you missed Esther’s sermon today, make sure to keep an eye out for the podcast version which will be released later this week! You can also read an excerpt from Esther’s sermon below.
“Racism, slavery, and colonisation are all singing from the same hymn book and aim to suppress, overpower, dehumanize, and belittle. We are all aware of the impact these have had on the Black community, and for this reason, it is our duty to ensure we do not continue dancing to the tunes those that came before us played; tunes riddled with ignorance, greed, hatred, wickedness, deceit, theft, fear, and pride. We must cut the chords of the old and re-tune our instruments so that melodies that soothe the souls will stream from a place of conviction, kindness, empathy, acceptance, knowledge, boldness, joy, peace, love, justice, and righteousness. We must allow God’s love to weave its way through the fabric of our beings so that when we look at one another, we see God’s image.”
If you wish to engage more with this year’s Black History Month, you can check out our previous post here or browse some events and articles of interest down below.
Free talk at the Wallace Collection on Wednesday Oct 3oth