These pages contain a wide range of resources relating to the ‘Birmingham Baptist Churches exploring their Black History‘ project.
Introduction
This page has details about the project, click the item below to expand and read more...
Current Challange
Current challenge of churches in Britain to discern hows and whys of welcoming migrant/immigrant populations and scope to learn from the past through congregational studies that have archival search and participatory aspects.
Story of the Project
Story of how the project emerged told because West Midlands is the region where the first Black minister (of any denomination) – a Baptist minister, George Cosens, minister of Cradley Heath BC in 1837 – is known to have held pastoral charge of a church in Britain. Birmingham in the West Midlands is also home to one of the next earliest known Black pastors – Peter Stanford, minister of Hope St BC (today known as Highgate BC), in the 1880s. Birmingham was also both a key centre of the industrial revolution which sourced the metal-based equipment that shacked Black people during enslavement. At the same time, it was a key centre for the abolition of slavery movement, and for Baptists (and others) this was linked closely to the work of BMS.
Acknowledgements
Key funders for the project will be listed and thanked and thanks will be extended to the key historians (and others) Gale has worked with.
Introduction
Key First Black Leaders
Individual Churches
