Racial Justice Sunday Service at Northchurch Baptist Church

See how Northchurch Baptist Church marked Racial Justice Sunday for the first time.

What an amazing day we had at Northchurch Baptist Church as we marked Racial Justice Sunday for the first time. It was a new step for us as a church so in many ways we were finding our feet. But God was at work – from the morning service to the evening gathering all went brilliantly. In the morning my buddy Tony explained what Racial Justice Sunday was about, showed a short video from Gavin Calver encouraging churches to engage with racial justice and invited people to come to the evening gathering. Dami and I said prayers from the CTBI resources.

We were grateful that our Minister, David Russell, picked up the theme throughout the rest of the service, weaving it into his sermon and encouraging the whole congregation to reflect and respond. He spoke honestly about the reality that racism still exists, even within our church – a challenging but necessary truth.

And What a blessed and spirit-filled service we had in the evening – about 40 people turned up. David and his trusty guitar led us in sung worship and we all read from Revelation together (almost all together 😊) reflecting on God’s vision of a diverse people united in Him. Tony then explained the format of the evening and why it was important to talk about racism in the church. He recommended a book by Ben Lindsay, We need to talk about race.

We all, like sheep, have gone astray (Isaiah 53:6)

We divided into small groups – David making sure we were in mixed groups from a range of different walks of life and different backgrounds. We shared experiences of inclusion and exclusion, how they have shaped our faith and what could have been done differently. The questions we looked at are given below.

Some conversations were challenging, but God was present, guiding us. Each group shared one question they thought was the most important at the end and we considered practical steps our church can take toward greater inclusion.

We ended by reflecting on David’s message from the morning, which focused on Isaiah 53 and the reminder that “we all, like sheep, have gone astray” (Isaiah 53:6). This truth highlights our shared need for grace and the reality that we are all equal in our “gone astray-ness.” As we seek racial justice and greater inclusion, this recognition of our common need for God’s mercy must shape everything we do. It is through this humility and love that we will see transformation – not only in our church and communities but also within our own hearts.

These are the questions we worked through:

• Think of a time you felt included – how did it make you feel and why was it important to you?
• Can you share a time when you felt excluded, unheard, or like you didn’t belong—whether because of your heritage, culture, background, or any other reason? How did that experience affect you, your confidence, faith, or sense of belonging? How did it make you feel?
• What do you think could have been done differently in that situation to create a greater sense of inclusion and belonging? What could you have done differently and what could other people have done differently?
• Are there any practical and actionable things we as a church can do to progress racial justice?

Anna R FitzPatrick