'BAPTISTS in Britain were slower than we should have been to take a decisive stand, and I'm ver
y sorry about that.
'It matters now to stand shoulder to shoulder with Caribbean sisters and brothers, acknowledging failures and rejoicing in Christian fellowship.'
These are the words of the Revd Dr Alistair Brown, general director of BMS World Mission on the eve of an unprecedented trip undertaken by Baptist leaders.
Today a delegation representing British Baptists is travelling to Jamaica to apologise to Jamaican Baptists for the transatlantic slave trade.
At the Baptist World Alliance (BWA) annual gathering in Ghana last year disappointment had been expressed that British Baptists had not offered an outright apology for the slave trade.
The gathering saw apologies from Dutch and US Baptist leaders. There followed a major discussion on the issue at the November session of the Baptist Union Council, which resulted in members unanimously agreeing a resolution offering an '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 trip to Jamaica now enables that apology to go further, and be made in person.
The Revd Jonathan Edwards, Baptist Union of Great Britain (BUGB) general secretary, explained, 'The decision to offer an apology for the transatlantic slave trade was an historic moment for the Baptist Union Council.
'In the statement that was agreed at that meeting it was clearly stated that this was just the start of a journey.
'Taking the apology to Jamaica in person seemed to many people a vital step on the journey and it is my privilege to participate in it.'
During their stay (May 22 -29) the delegation will have opportunities to meet with Jamaican Baptists and worship in their churches, as well as seeing locations inextricably bound up with their history.
Plans are in place for the team to share in two worship experiences on Sunday, May 25 at which time space will be given for the apology to be made and a plaque to be handed over.
Karl Johnson, general secretary of the Jamaica Baptist Union is looking forward to meeting the delegation. He said,
'The Jamaica Baptist Union received the news of the apology made by our sisters and brothers in the Baptist family in the United Kingdom with openness, humility and appreciation.
'For years we have felt that such an action was necessary and have indeed encouraged them to consider same; it therefore goes without saying that we are grateful to God that in God's own time and in the lifetime of some who were part of the original request in 1994, it has come to pass.
'We look forward to receiving the team in Christian love and hospitality and pray that the visit will underscore our sense of oneness and common journey.'
BWA general secretary, the Revd Dr Neville Callam, who originates from Jamaica, also affirmed the trip by British Baptists and the apology that they are giving.
'We thank God for the Apology issued by British Baptists in relation to the slavery and the slave trade,' he said.
'As members of the body of Christ, we treasure the solidarity we have in Christ and we know how to respond when fellow Christians admit to wrongdoing, if even by their forebears.
'We know the joy and the blessing of forgiveness. With this, true healing is possible and liberation becomes the common gain of everyone involved.'
The trip follows the commemoration of the bicentenary of the passing of the Act abolishing the slave trade in the British parliament in 1807.
Among the delegation is the Revd Wale Hudson-Roberts, BUGB racial justice coordinator.
He said the council apology in November was a 'theologically powerful act' which has set many Africans and Caribbeans free.
'Emerging from the Apology is now a willingness and enthusiasm to work towards addressing, and strategically challenging the legacies of the transatlantic slave trade with the hope that one day all Baptists will belong to a family that is free from prejudice and racism,' he added.
