At a time when the C of E is trying to include more people of black and ethnic minority backgrounds to have a higher profile in the church leadership, this letter will come as a stark warning that many black Anglicans continue to have deep-seated grievances about race, their place in British society, and perceived lack of welcome in the Church. This cultural division is being made much worse by what is seen as white British Bishops pursuing a theological agenda that is hostile and oppressive to the majority of black Anglicans, including revisionist views on sexuality.

There is no opinion poll accompanying this letter, to gauge how prevalent these views are among the black Anglican community in England. But as the letter concludes with a clear call for separation in the Anglican Communion, the fact that it has been publicly expressed should cause concern to the Archbishop of Canterbury. But not only that. Mr. Artwell's comments (which may contain their own prejudices) need to be weighed carefully by all white British Anglicans who hold to the orthodox faith, who love Jesus and who would want to stand against racism and Western cultural superiority.

Many evangelical Anglican churches in England are mono-cultural. We hear and applaud the challenge to liberal churches about maintaining biblical doctrine -- are we also hearing the challenge to ourselves about being a church that visibly demonstrates the breaking down of racial and cultural barriers as people are united at the foot of the cross, and goes out of its way to care for and uplift the economically poor?

If, when the Primates meet in January, the majority of the world's confessing Anglicans take the route suggested by Mr Artwell, and decide to loosen ties of fellowship with the Church of England because the C of E chooses to follow the norms and values of white Western culture, should orthodox white British Anglicans remain as a part of the C of E as if nothing has happened? Will we value being with other white English folk in the official structures more than close fellowship in biblical faith with people of all races at home and abroad as in GAFCON? What is clear is that the divisions in worldwide Anglicanism are not just about doctrines of salvation and sexual ethics (though this is central) -- they are about deeply-held perceptions of race, history, power and justice. Thankfully the Bible gives full guidance for all these issues, and genuine unity in the Spirit does lead to repentance, forgiveness, and partnership in global mission.

The letter from Chaka Artwell follows below:

To all who care about the welfare of children and the Gospel message in England today. On Wednesday 14th October 2015 I went to a lecture at Pusey House entitled Christianity and Culture. This lecture described the new western trend among Christians to embrace and support all things homosexual, as "progressive"; whilst African and Asian Churches were described as "conservative", i.e. bad, and backward, for supporting traditional Bible based belief, which does not embrace homosexuality.

During the question time, I said to the lecturer that African and Asian Churches were more concerned with protecting their children from white men who practice sex tourism and child exploitation. This issue was front page news May 2015, when French United Nations Peace Keepers were caught trading sex with children for food.

I had an intense conversation, after the lecture, with a man and woman whose position and office I was unaware of at the time. They were the Bishop of Buckingham and his chaplain Canon Rosie Harper. What they said should be of great interest to all parents whose children attend Church of England's primary schools. This conversation should also be of great interest to the millions of people whose ancestors were slaves of the Anglican Church.

The Bishop of Buckingham quoted information supplied by Stonewall, asserting that young children who are confused as to their gender experience mental health issues and bullying in primary schools. The Bishop spoke about some of these children harming themselves. The Anglican Church is taking action to address the issue of "bullying" in Church of England Primary Schools, even if taking a stand means destroying the Anglican union globally and exposing our young children to the propaganda of the well-funded political lobbying "charity" Stonewall.

Why is so much attention being given to Stonewall's concerns and agenda, and not to the disproportionate number of English-born people of Caribbean heritage with mental health issues? These problems have been attributed to having to cope constantly with lingering vestiges of racism. This week the BBC reported that people in the UK of African and Caribbean heritage are three times as likely to be tasered as those from other backgrounds. The Anglican Church has a direct responsibility for racism as it owned the largest slave plantations in the Caribbean for over two hundred years. This is a blot on its history.

I tried to express my anger at the disparity in the Anglican Church's response to matters connected with homosexuality. The Church appears to be prepared to destroy the union in order to placate the desires and demands of Stonewall and homosexual clergy; whereas, the Anglican Church has done nothing substantial to heal some of the psychological damage wrought on the descendants of its former slaves.

I have personally lost friends to mental health issues, and problems caused by the constant pressure of being viewed negatively by others. To my mind, the Anglican Church has never tried to atone for the trauma it has caused to Caribbean people. What happened to the wealth from its slave plantations? The Anglican Church provided justification for slavery. The Rev. Charles Darwin was an Anglican Minister, and his evolutionary theories provided the rationale for White Supremacy. This was a crime against the message and example of the Gospel. I wish to know how the Church of England plans to redress this.

The Anglican leadership is prepared to destroy the unity of the Anglican Family worldwide in order to follow the instructions of Stonewall. This reveals that the white leaders regard the black Christians as inferior, and treat them without respect. I remain outraged that the Bishop of Buckingham, his Chaplain and the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Anglican leadership do not see something horribly amiss for the Church to invite Stonewall into the Church of England Primary Schools to teach about homosexuality under the pretext of preventing bullying. The Church has the life of Jesus as a guide. That is how we counter bullying.

When I pressed the Rt Revd Alan Wilson, stressing that the example of Jesus, the Sermon on the Mount, and the Golden Rule are sufficient to guide human behaviour, the Bishop rejected this. He and his Chaplain prefer that young, impressionable people should be subjected to the teaching material of the infamous Stonewall! I pressed the Bishop asking him if he has actually seen the stuff Stonewall pushes at our young children in Church of England Primary schools. He said he had, and he was quite happy with it! Shocking.

Strange that the Mission Statement of the Bishop of Buckingham's website states, "The Church of England professes the faith that is uniquely revealed in the Bible." Clearly the Bishop and his chaplain have long rejected the Bible as a guide and they are clearly anti Christ in action, thinking and behaviour. The Bishop is guided not by the light and example of Jesus, but sadly by the undisciplined desires of the secular world. I actually felt I was witnessing the complete death of true Christianity in the Anglican Church.

I wonder if it is time for the non-white members of the Anglican Church to reject the leadership of Lambeth Palace, let the white Anglican Churches depart to their secular "heaven"; while the non-white Christians can continue to cherish the example and teaching of Jesus and the Gospels. Is it time to "come out of her," as the book of Revelation instructs, because of the perversion, which has taken control of the Church?

I think the best course for the Bishops in Africa and Asia is now to leave the men of sin who have the impudence to call themselves followers of Jesus in the Anglican Church today.

Chaka Artwell,
Oxford,
30th November 2015.