UK Black Pride

Saturday 19th August was a historic day for us as an organisation for two reasons. First, OneBodyOneFaith in its Co-Chairs, Andrea and I attended UK Black Pride for the first time representing the work of our charity and spreading the message of God’s inclusive love for all people without exception. Second, it was the very first time in UK Black Pride’s 18 year history that an Inclusive Interfaith Chaplaincy (of which we were part) was present at a stall for the duration of the day. 

Founded in 2005, UK Black Pride began as a day trip to Southend on Sea, and now it meets annually in Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park where it attracts over 25,000 people from not only Europe but around the world. Its Co-Founder Lady Phyll Opoku-Gyimah has created a space in which Black and People of Colour feel centred, safe and seen at an LGBT+ event where food and music, stalls and panels reflect something of our cultural heritage. This is a crucial space for faith leaders to be present in, and for LGBT+ charities like our own to engage with particularly at a time when racial inequalities and intersectionality are so often being overlooked or denied. 

The lectionary texts for the Sunday the day after UK Black Pride included words from the Prophet Isaiah 56: 

“My house will be called a house of prayer for all peoples”

It was moving to see this embodied at the Inclusive Interfaith Chaplaincy as together, Christians, Muslims and Jews bore witness to the inclusive love of God. It was beautiful to see that embodied, to be part of making that possible, and to broaden our mission and scope in such an important space. 

Jarel Robinson-Brown, Co-Chair