Join Churches Together in England on 25 May 2021 for Candle of Justice: a moment of action – commemorating the first anniversary of George Floyd’s murder.
The Candle of Justice will be a moment to light a candle, pray for racial justice and commit to taking personal and institutional action to tackle racial injustice in our society and our churches.
Later that evening, there will then be an opportunity to join churches across the nation for Doing Justice: A National Service of Reflection on the Anniversary of the murder of George Floyd. The service, hosted by Churches Together in Britain and Ireland, airs at 7pm and can be watched on Youtube. BBC Radio 4 will subsequently broadcast the service at 8.10am on Sunday 30 May for its Sunday Worship programme.
Join in
Follow these five simple steps for how you and your church can get involved in the national #CandleOfJustice campaign on 25 May: 1. At noon, pause for one minute to remember George Floyd and all those who experience racism
2. Light your candle (or alternatively shine a light from your phone)
3. Pray using the Candle of Justice prayer
4. Pause, reflect and make a personal commitment to tackling racial injustice
5. Share on social media – upload your candle photo or share the Candle of Justice prayer graphic. Remember to use the hashtag #CandleOfJustice and tag in @ChurchesEngland *Safety note – please take all necessary fire precautions when using a lit candle. Ensure you remain with the lit candle at all times, and do not leave it to burn if you leave the room. Ensure there are no fabrics or materials such as curtains near the candle. If you are able to use a small electric ‘candle’ instead, that will be safe to leave unattended.
Resources to download and share
- Prayer graphic (text version also available below)
- Whats App/Facebook graphic
- Twitter graphic
- Website banner image
Candle of Justice prayer
O Lord, you are a God of justice –
may we share your passion for justice,
which can be seen throughout the Bible.
By the power of your Holy Spirit
enable us to stand up for justice
and stand against intolerance.
Thank you that you love each person,
made in the image of God.
Change our hearts to see others as you do.
Allow our hearts to break over the sin of racism,
and our lament to turn into righteous action.
Amen.
This prayer was written by CTBI’s Director of Inclusion Richard Reddie, and CTE’s Principal Officer for Pentecostal, Charismatic and Multi-cultural Relations Shermara Fletcher.
Daily prayers for racial justice
To mark the anniversary of George Floyd’s murder, CTE will also be sharing daily prayers on racial justice from our Member Churches, one each day from Sunday 23 to Sunday 30 May.
A prayer will be added daily to cte.org.uk/dailyprayers from Sunday 23 May, and also made available to share on our social media channels Twitter and Facebook (search @ChurchesEngland).
Churches are committed to work together for racial justice
Churches are committed to working together on the journey of seeking racial justice – both within our churches and in wider society – and a number of ecumenical initiatives have gathered pace in recent months.
This includes the establishment of CTE’s Racial Justice Working Group. This group brings together racial justice representatives from across CTE’s 50 Member Churches, along with CTE trustees, a representative from Churches Together in Britain and Ireland (CTBI), and others with specialist skills and knowledge. Find out more in our web story.
The direct link to this web page is www.cte.org.uk/justice
