SWANWICK, England (ABP) — Baptists in Britain have apologized for their role in the slave trade.
The Council of the Baptist Union of Great Britain, observing the 200th anniversary of the abolition of the transatlantic slave trade, passed an apology resolution at its recent meeting in Swanwick, England.
“We offer our apology to God and to our brothers and sisters for all that has created and still perpetuates the hurt which originated from the horror of slavery,” the resolution said.
The transatlantic slave trade brought millions of kidnapped and captured Africans as slaves to the Americas in exchange for money, guns, and other goods. It was officially abolished by the British in 1807, but slavery in the British colonies wasn't abolished until 1838.
The Baptist council, which made the transatlantic slave trade the main focus of its meeting, further repented “of the hurt we have caused, the divisions we have created, our reluctance to face up to the sin of the past, our unwillingness to listen to the pain of our black sisters and brothers, and our silence in the face of racism and injustice today.”
Neville Callam, general secretary of the Baptist World Alliance, said the apology brought him a “deep feeling of relief.”
A Jamaican descendant of African slaves, he was elected BWA general secretary last July.
“By this single action, the [Baptist Union of Great Britain] has taken a giant step in restoring the special place it once enjoyed in the affection of many Baptists around the world,” he said.
In the resolution, British Baptists acknowledged “our share in and benefit from our nation's participation in the transatlantic slave trade” and said “we speak as those who have shared in and suffered from the legacy of slavery and its appalling consequences for God's world.”
The Baptists said the apology is a response to the “the pain of hurting sisters and brothers,” and to “God speaking to us.” It also stated an intention to “turn the words and feelings we have expressed today into concrete actions.”
Noting his disappointment that the British had not made an apology last July at a BWA service of memory and reconciliation at the Cape Coast Slave Castle in Ghana, Callam said he hoped that “now that this has happened, some of us can bring closure to the experience of the service at the slave castle.”
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