Church Army chief makes his mark at walk of witness

26 Mar 2007

Church Army’s Chief Executive, Mark Russell, was among thousands of people who participated in the Walk of Witness event on Saturday to mark the abolition of the slave trade. The initiative, spearheaded by the Church of England, commemorated the 200th anniversary of the abolition of the slave trade with more than 3,000 people taking part in a solemn procession of remembrance despite poor weather conditions.

Archbishops Dr Rowan Williams and Dr John Sentamu led people through the streets of London asking them to reflect upon the trade which saw hundreds of thousands of Africans shipped to the Caribbean in miserable conditions and forced to work on plantations.

Mark Russell was a platform guest along with Dr Williams and Dr Sentamu, The Archbishops of Ghana and West Indies, The Lord Mayor of London, and Joel Edwards of the Evangelical Alliance. Mark said, "It was a deeply moving experience. I was privileged to march just behind the Archbishops, which I think acknowledged the strong support Church Army gave for this march.

"The slave trade is a chapter in our nation's history which shames us, when we were complicit in destroying communities in other parts of what was then the British Empire, and treating people as property, depriving them of dignity and freedom. This Walk of Witness showed our desire to remember and repent of this sin. I for one felt the need to play my part in helping say sorry for the role our Church played many years ago".

The event, organised by the Church's Committee for Minority Ethnic Anglican Concerns (CMEAC), follows the Church of England's apology for its role in the slave trade, which the General Synod debated in February last year and forms the main part of the Church's wider awareness campaign, Making our Mark.

Follow this link to read Mark Russell's full account of the day.

For more information, see www.makingourmark.org.uk