“A vibrant mix of scripture, art, music, dance, testimony and silence” to demonstrate “that faith gives reason for hope and the courage for action”: that’s how the organization “Churches Together in the Merseyside Region” (CTMR) comments on the recent “service of reflection and prayer for those enslaved today” held in Liverpool. The service was presided over by the Catholic Archbishop of Liverpool Patrick Kelly in the Metropolitan Cathedral of Christ the King on Sunday, 21 October. “As the year of remembrance marking the bicentenary of the abolition of the slave trade draws to a close, CTMR are marking the year of remembrance and repentance” for those enslaved today, and to recall that “200 years since the Act of Parliament was passed to abolish the slave trade in the British Empire there is still a web of exploitation and abuse”. Apart from Archbishop Kelly, the service was attended by representatives of Christian Aid, of the Mersey Mission for Seafarers and Apostleship of the Sea, and of Asylum Link Merseyside. The service was enlivened by dance and drama performed by pupils from Notre Dame College, Everton Valley. Various testimonies drew attention to the plight of those who currently suffer massive injustice: “women and children who are trafficked for sex, exploited seafarers, asylum seekers and the politically oppressed”.
