P r a g u e / B r i s t o l – According to the General-Secretary of the European Baptist Federation (EBF), the Englishman Tony Peck (Bristol/Prague), British Baptists should apologise publically for their involvement in the slave trade. His appeal was instigated by a service of reconciliation held in a former British slave castle in Accra, Ghana during the recent Baptist World Alliance (BWA) annual conference. During the service, which was led by the British Union`s General-Secretary, the Revd. Jonathan Edwards (Didcot), delegates from the USA and the Netherlands apologised for the involvement of their nations. Yet British Baptists did not make a similar apology. In a letter to the editor published by the weekly “Baptist Times” (Didcot), which was also mentioned in the issue’s cover article, Peck reports on a visit to Baptists in Jamaica. He received the impression that a statement of regret from British Baptists would be “very helpful and meaningful to them”. This was mentioned again this year by Karl Henlin (St. Catharine), President of Jamaica’s Baptist Union. According to Peck, Jamaica’s Baptists are not requesting financial compensation, but rather “a clear statement of regret and a commitment by British Baptists to fight against modern-day slavery and racism wherever they may appear.” Peck believes there are spiritual reasons for such a confession: “As a Gospel people, we do not have to be personally responsible for an evil to express regret and even apologise for the involvement of those who have gone before us.” Peck expressed sincere concerns regarding the fact that his hometown of Bristol is even today benefitting from the enormous profits of the slave trade. Precisely 200 years ago, Great Britain had made the slave trade illegal.

The “Baptist Times” reports that Edwards is uncertain as to whether such a confession would be meaningful. He concedes that participating in the memorial service in Accra had moved him to tears. During the conference he had spoken with an African pastor who regarded such a confession as inappropriate and unhelpful, while another pastor from Jamaica demanded an immediate apology. Edwards regards it to be of greater importance, “that we focus our energies on proclaiming and living out the liberating Gospel of Christ in our own day”. A part of this entails uncovering racism in our society and ensuring “that our attitudes and actions are ones that reflect a God of justice and grace”.