Marking Black History Month

October is Black History month. This is being marked by two of our churches in completely different ways.

Bewdley Parish

For the third year in a row, church members in Bewdley are marking Black History Month with a book club. In previous years the group has read ‘Tarry Awhile’ by Selina Stone and ‘Black Voices on Britain’ ed. Hakim Adi. This year will be the first time they have chosen a fiction book and will be exploring ‘The Year of the Runaways’ by Sunjeev Sahota, which was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize in 2015.

Licensed Lay Minister Robert Barbour said:

“The Year of the Runaways is a tale of a group of young men who are thrown together in Sheffield after fleeing India, and of a devout Sikh woman, outlining their back stories. It is a gripping tale, and we are finding it a compelling read. The book raises issues around duty, morality, personal fulfilment and the role of religion. At just under 500 pages, it’s a longer book than we’ve tackled previously and our first work of fiction. Due to the length of the book, and the feeling that we do need to have finished the whole book before discussing it, we are reading it during Black History month, but our discussion sessions will take place in November.”

Kidderminster East

The Revd Jacqueline Shalloe, originally from Uganda, used a harvest celebration at St Celicia’s Church to celebrate Black History Month. The church’s ‘Younger at Heart’ group asked Jacqueline to lead their harvest celebration and she used it as an opportunity to introduce food from Africa, creating a fruit salad and bringing along some African vegetables.

Jacqueline said:

“Black History Month invites us to honour the stories, traditions, and contributions that shape our communities in ways we often overlook.

For the harvest celebration, I prepared a fruit salad made entirely from African fruits found in the local supermarket. The colours were vibrant, the flavours new and exciting, and the stories behind each fruit opened up wonderful conversations. Mango, papaya, pineapple, passion fruit, and pomegranate — familiar to some but rarely explored in their cultural context. I also shared a small card explaining the health benefits of each fruit, which helped people appreciate not only the taste but the nourishment these foods offer.

We also looked at African vegetables such as cassava, sweet potatoes, and green pumpkin. Again, there was delight and curiosity as people learned how these foods are used in everyday cooking across different African nations, and how they support the body with natural vitamins and energy.”

“Black History Month reminds us that learning  from others can be joyful. It can be as simple as tasting something new, discovering the story behind a recipe, or recognising the global diversity that enriches our churches. Sharing African food with the “Younger at Heart group” helped us celebrate culture, honour heritage, and recognise the beauty of God’s world — wide, colourful, and full of gifts waiting to be discovered, sometimes right there in the supermarket aisle!”