Christians Remember Bicentenary of Abolition of Slavery

Christians from across south-east Hampshire and the Isle of Wight will commit themselves to fighting modern-day slavery this weekend, 23 to 25 March, as they remember the abolition of the transatlantic slave trade.

Churchgoers from the Anglican Diocese of Portsmouth will travel to London on Saturday (March 24) for the Walk of Witness to mark the 200th anniversary of the abolition of the slave trade.

They will join the Archbishops of Canterbury and York for a silent walk through the streets of central London to remember the brutal treatment of Africans who died on slave ships or suffered on plantations.

The next day (March 25) - designated as 'Freedom Day' - will see BBC Radio 3's Evensong broadcast from Portsmouth Cathedral at 4pm to signify the role that the city played in the slave trade. The Anglican Bishop of Portsmouth, the Rt Rev Kenneth Stevenson, who is recovering from leukaemia, will record his sermon for the broadcast at home.

College chaplains will take it in turns to be locked in a cage outside St Vincent College, Gosport, on Friday (March 23) to draw students' attention to the issue of modern-day slavery. The seven chaplains will take it in turns to sit in the cage for an hour at a time, giving out leaflets to students.

These are just three of many events that aim to mark the bicentenary of the abolition of the slave trade throughout the British Empire and to lobby governments to act on modern-day equivalents of slavery - including child labour and sex trafficking.

Worshippers will remember the contribution of William Wilberforce, whose Christian faith moved him to campaign for abolition for 20 years before the act was finally given royal assent on 25 March 1807.

Canon Nick Ralph, social responsibility adviser for Portsmouth Diocese, said: "In considering the social progress that has been made since those events 200 years ago, and the place the Church had in confronting that injustice, it's important to recognise that slavery still continues to be a modern problem. People continue to be exploited and enslaved in a variety of ways, such as though child labour or sex trafficking. It happens here today, and there is evidence of women being trafficked through Portsmouth ferry port."

Portsmouth Diocese has organised a coach-load of churchgoers to go to London for the Walk of Witness. They will take part in a reflection at Whitehall, before the two archbishops, and church leaders from the West Indies and Ghana, lead the three-mile walk to Kennington Park. Much of it will be in silence, apart from occasional drumming and a lament sung by singers. There will then be a large-scale act of repentance and restoration, and walkers will be urged to re-commit themselves to live by the values of the Gospel.