It was Racial Justice Sunday (RJS) on 8th February 2026. RJS has been celebrated since 1989. Every year RJS resources are produced by the Churches Together in Britain & Ireland (CTBI). This year’s theme is "Love your neighbour". It is taken from The Holy Bible (Galatians 5:14) which states the whole law is summed up in a single commandment "You shall love your neighbour as yourself".
Given the current narratives of hostility, fear, suspicion and hatred of the ‘other’, the CTBI Director of Justice and Inclusion Richard Reddie explains how the Bible provides a blueprint for a world where everyone belongs; where everyone is loved, valued and affirmed for who they are, and not what they look like or have to offer…as brothers and sisters of one ‘race’: the human race. He says, “I believe this message is one that speaks through the ‘flags’, banners, protests and invective, relaying a message of unity and hope. Let us use Racial Justice Sunday (and other Sundays) to stand together in love, rejecting those words, actions and behaviours that go against Christ’s teachings, and embracing those biblical principles that foment unity, cohesion and engagement.”
Locally at St John’s Methodist Church Luton, Mr Fredrick Cole’s Sermon explored racial justice through both a secular lens and a biblical one. In society, racial justice means ensuring all people, regardless of race, have equal access to education, work, healthcare, safety, and dignity. Race should never determine someone’s opportunities. Biblically, racial justice is rooted in The Bible (Genesis 1:27) that says every person is made in God’s image.
Therefore, racism contradicts God’s design. Mr Cole highlighted that Jesus calls us to be ‘salt‘ and ‘light’ – salt prevents decay and light exposes what darkness hides; likewise Christians must confront racial injustice and shine light by telling the truth about history, acknowledging pain, and working toward reconciliation.
Jesus also calls for a “greater righteousness” that examines if we love all our neighbours equally. Do we benefit from unjust systems? Are we willing to pursue justice even when uncomfortable?
Mr Cole encouraged everyone to put Racial Justice into practice by learning the history we may not have been taught, by advocating for fairness in workplaces, schools, and communities and by building genuine relationships across racial lines.
https://www.lutontoday.co.uk/news/opinion/racial-justice-sunday-calls-to-love-your-neighbour-5508979
Here's a prayer of lament in response to the comment about UK as “colonised by immigrants”.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ckglv1n4dzeo
God in your mercy hear our prayers. @rajpatta
A Prayer of Lament
Migrant God, yet again we, as (im)migrants, are demonised;
this time we are blamed by one of the billionaires as colonisers.
Have we extracted wealth and stolen resources like the colonisers?
Have we exploited Indigenous peoples and transported them as ‘slaves’?
Have we expanded territories and gained profit by enslaving people for plantations?
Then why, O God, why are we insulted for making the UK “colonised by immigrants”?
On the contrary, we as (im)migrants have decolonised British society
by tirelessly contributing to the welfare of society,
by paying our taxes for the benefit of the wider citizenry,
by offering our gifts for the transformation of communities,
by celebrating multicultural and inclusive diversity in our neighbourhoods,
by making our nation not an island of strangers but a nation of sanctuary,
by integrating into society, overcoming divisive politics of hatred and hostility,
by bridging communities with faith and friendship,
by supporting the economy through our jobs and hard work, and
by upholding the British values of love, hope, dignity, and respect.
Be with us, O God, in our fears and anxieties
as these vile comments strike us day after day.
Give us courage to face them,
truth to resist them,
and strength to overcome them.
Help us, O God, to be treated justly and fairly,
affirming our humanity, celebrating our inclusivity,
and restoring our dignity.
Break down the walls of ‘us’ and ‘them’,
for we are one—like you and one with you—
working for the mutual flourishing of all on our planet.
May we, as a nation, be a place of safe haven,
offering hope, home, and hospitality to all. Amen.
Rev'd Dr Raj Bharat Patta is a Methodist minister at the United Stockport Circuit with a pastoral charge of Dialstone Lane Methodist Church and Davenport Methodist Church.
Mr Fredrick Cole, the local preacher in the South Bedfordshire Methodist Circuit, led the Racial Justice Sunday Service at St John’s Methodist Church, Luton.
Rev'd Dr Raj Bharat Patta is a Methodist minister at the United Stockport Circuit with a pastoral charge of Dialstone Lane Methodist Church and Davenport Methodist Church. He wrote this prayer of lament in response to the comment about UK as “colonised by immigrants”. God in your mercy hear our prayers. @rajpatta
