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Transactional Encounters

I hope that I show politeness and respect to everyone I have an interaction with.  (Ouch! that might include other drivers and telephone cold callers more than it actually does) With most black or coloured people I meet, it is not hard to show politeness and respect because that is what is expected in the situation.  They are serving me in a shop, or delivering goods; they are my doctor or nurse attending to me; they are helping me with an enquiry; they are installing something in our house.  They have a role, and I show respect to them on account of that role.  That can even be the case in a church situation. During the ministry time  I might be praying for them, or them for me. The encounter may be friendly, but it is for the purpose of a specific transaction. It is rather in social situations that attitudes to race and colour are more likely to come to the fore.   Before we leave the transactional encounters behind it is worth asking how much warmth...
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Colour or Culture?

As I said in the  Introductory Post , I have had several friends of colour over the years, but I am aware that they have all been second or third generation immigrants, brought up in this country, and comfortable with British culture, and seeming to be every bit as English or British as I am. I am less at ease, and find it harder to be friends with, first generation immigrants who reflect more of the culture of their own country.  Once they have become more english, life is easier - for me. Whether it is easier or better for them is another question. I think that begs two questions, neither of which I am attempting to answer in this post.  Is it right, or fair, or reasonable for me to expect them to do all the adjustment and become more British, rather than me to do more of the adjustment? I think it is probable, or at least possible, that I am quicker to adjust to people recently arrived from Europe. Would that be because there is a shared European culture, or because th...
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Is God Colour Blind?

At our last Sunday Virtual Sunday Service, the pastor asked three church members of colour some questions. The one that struck me most is Does God see Colour? Now the Glorious Truth is that though our sinful nature and actions would disqualify us, God by his mercy and grace accepts us because of the merits of his son Jesus. That is available to us whether male or female, slave or free, Jew or gentile, as it says in Galatians 3:28.  He accepts us because of Jesus if we are white, and because of Jesus if we are black. Does that mean he sees a person as a person rather than as a black person or as a white person?  The discussion made it very clear the answer is No. He knows us each intimately. He saw us as we were knit together in our mother's womb. (Ps139:13-15) He knows every detail of our life. Of course he knows whether we are black or white.  He knows us intimately, even every hair of our head. (Matt 10:30) The pastor likened it to our experience as earthly fathers. We ...
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Introduction

This blog is here to record my reflections on the themes of Race & Colour. It is not a direct response to the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis on 25 May and the Black Lives Matter campaign. Rather it is to record my participation in the response that our church initiating. Our church leaders have encouraged us to read a book.   We need to talk about Race  by Ben Lindsay, which has the subtitle "Understanding the Black Experience in White Majority Churches" We have a "One book Book Club" starting on Zoom this week. Ultimately, we know that when we are in heaven we will stand before the throne as part of a great multitude from every nation tribe people and language - Rev 7:9, an uncomfortable prospect for anyone who is racist.  I do not think I am racist. I say that having had at various times in my life as my closest companion or amongst my closest circle of friends men of Chinese Indian Ethiopian and Nigerian descent. But that does not mean that I ...
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