“All of them will be one...so that they might be brought to complete unity” John 17:21-23

We commit to being part of a welcoming city, a diverse community where all people, whatever their background or ethnicity, see that God’s Church is a place of generous welcome, a community of love and even a place to call home.

a) As God’s people, followers of Jesus and God’s representatives - we are committed to challenging racism and championing justice, equality and equity as part of God’s Kingdom. We acknowledge the issue of racial injustice and its systemic and institutional nature. We commit to challenging and tackling racism in our society.

b) We recognise that there are traditions, theologies and practices within our church and congregations that hold inequalities within them. We all have a Kingdom responsibility for challenging racism in our churches and communities.

c) We commit to an honest and open look at ourselves, taking our individual responsibility and accountability seriously as part of our commitment to God and to the Body of Christ.

“A new commandment I give you. Love one another as I have loved you” John 13:34-35

We commit to strengthening unity and harmony across the church so that we might be one just as the Father and Son are one. So we commit to

a) Relationships and honouring people. We all will fail and succeed within that, but we want to pursue a sense of unity that continually deepens in love and understanding between individual people, communities, and beyond.

b) Continually creating spaces for listening and honest dialogue. We aim for truth, reconciliation and healing through open discussions in our church and communities and across the city.

c) Ongoing education and bridging knowledge gaps, appreciating and learning from our wider diverse community, lived and ongoing experiences.

d) We will advocate using our influence and understanding to stand up and speak up for racial equality and equity in the church and the city.

“Act justly, love mercy and walk humbly with your God.” Micah 6:8

We want to create a welcoming and safe city and welcoming and safe churches. It is about creating places and communities where people can be part of something and participate and contribute as part of their spiritual journey and ours.

a) We commit to greater listening and understanding of all people’s diverse needs, resulting in making our communities, information, and general service more accessible and inclusive.

b) We will change and upgrade our thinking. As faith communities, we will equip and engage the wider church with material on theology, and key principles around justice, equity and equality, testimonies and events.

c) We will change and upgrade structures and cultures to remove racism. We recognise, value and celebrate diversity by promoting inclusion and participation

d) We will change decision making power. We will build and strengthen representative leadership: Creating systems, structures and processes that encourage representative leadership in our churches and organisations. We will actively mentor and encourage young and emerging leaders.

“All of them will be one...so that they might be brought to complete unity” John 17:21-23

Whilst rhetoric and discussion have their place, as gatekeepers, influencers and members of our communities, we want to hold ourselves accountable.

a) We will establish clear goals for diversity and inclusion as part of core vision and values, held by senior leadership teams and supported via wider leadership and ministry teams. These will be continually reviewed.

b) We will take practical action, developing short, medium and long term plans to equip the wider church to strengthen unity and collaboration and engage the wider community.

c) We will communicate and dialogue regularly and clearly. We will communicate these goals and actions to our communities to be held accountable by our communities and ensure the wider church is kept up to date.

d) We commit to clear and public routes for reporting, further conversation feedback, etc.