Black composers, musicians and singers are to be celebrated as part of a series of events, from exhibitions and lectures to services and study days, marking Black History Month in Cathedrals and churches across the country.
The Archbishop of Canterbury is to preside at a Eucharist at Southwark Cathedral marking Black History Month in the Diocese of Southwark.
The service will hear music by St Saviour’s and St Olave’s School Gospel Choir and the Nigerian Chaplaincy Worship Team with the sermon preached by the Dean of Gloucester, Andrew Zihni. A panel discussion will be held afterwards on the theme 'music at the heart of change.'
The day aims to ‘acknowledge the profound positive impact music has had on the black community, and the power of music to transform worship and enhance witness, to bring hope, and provide a space of healing, restoration and justice', Southwark Cathedral said.
An Evensong for Black History Month will be held at Gloucester Cathedral featuring music by black composers, including Samuel Coleridge Taylor and Nathaniel Dett, alongside readings and prayers for racial justice. There will also be music from the Gospel tradition at the service.
St Albans Cathedral will host a talk with broadcaster and academic Dr Robert Beckford on the theme of social justice and gospel music.
At Liverpool Cathedral, the broadcaster and academic Professor David Olusoga, who has written and broadcast extensively on black British history, will give the Black History Month lecture.
Wells Cathedral is holding a ‘pop-up’ photography exhibition The Missing Chapter: Black Chronicles in its South Cloister.
The display will feature 30 image panels reproduced from rare 19th-century photographs portraying people of African, Caribbean, and South Asian descent in Victorian Britain, including Samuel Crowther, the first black African Bishop in the Anglican church.
The Cathedral said the exhibition would offer ‘a unique portrait of black lives and migrant experiences during the decades following the birth of photography in 1839'.
A statue of St Benedict of Palermo (1526-1589), Patron Saint of Racial Justice, is being installed in the Franciscan Garden at St German’s Cathedral, Isle of Man, to coincide with the start of Black History Month. It is carved by the Zimbabwean sculptor Jonathan Mhondorohuma.
Benedict was a former slave, becoming a Franciscan Friar, Novice Master, then Superior, and the sculpture shows him teaching two brother Friars.
Norwich Cathedral will hold its first Black History Month service on October 20, celebrating the contributions of Black African and Caribbean people to the church. (The Diocese of Norwich Racial Justice Officer, the Rev Canon Karlene Kerr, is pictured, above)
A Welcoming Service will be held at Coventry Cathedral for the newly-formed West Midlands Regional Racial Justice team.
The Dioceses of Ely and Chichester will hold study days on racial justice to mark Black History Month.
The Rev Dr Sharon Prentis, Deputy Racial Justice Director for the Church of England, said: "Every year, we have seen an increase in the variety and number of these events.
"It is heartening to know how many people have embraced Black History Month in recognition and appreciation of the profound impact that those of African and Caribbean descent have made throughout history, in society and also within our church.
"Together, we celebrate the unique gifts and talents that enrich our congregations so that each member is valued."