The first black priest of St Mary’s Church in Putney has resigned, saying she was racially abused at a parish supper.
The Revd Sharon Hunt, who is of African-Caribbean heritage, said she was “on the receiving end of racist abuse” at a Seminar Supper on 24 September. “What was meant to be a pleasant evening amongst friends turned into a personal attack on me,” she said.
A Seminar Supper is a monthly parish meal built around a talk and discussion. St Mary’s is Putney’s historic parish church by the Thames, and its suppers are a regular part of parish community life.
In her resignation letter, read out to the congregation in full on Sunday by the Archdeacon of Wandsworth, the Venerable Bridget Shepherd, Hunt said it was not just the racial abuse that led her to resign, but that others who were there “witnessed what was taking place” and “sat in silence”. She said that silence was “equally as harmful as the racial words that are spoken”.
She said the abuse was “not just about me but all those who look like me, my family, friends”, and the silence left her feeling “neither seen nor valued as a member of this community”.
The parish told its congregation on Friday that the Archdeacon would be at services on Sunday, but most of the congregation had no idea why. Immediately after the services ended, the parish emailed Hunt’s letter to the broader congregation, along with a statement from the Archdeacon.
The news came as a shock to many in the congregation, for whom St Mary’s has always been seen as a progressive, liberal church.
The diocese, replying on behalf of the parish as well, said: “Racism is abhorrent and unacceptable, and we have clear expectations about honouring and speaking well of each other across difference.” It said it “referred the matter to the appropriate diocesan administrative process” and would “work with the individual concerned and the church over the coming months, reflecting on what we must learn from it”.
It did not say what the process is, or who is responsible for it. The diocese also said: “Within the Church, there is a range of experiences and perspectives”, and described the situation as “pastorally complex”.
Questions were put to the parish and the diocese on Monday: whether a process is under way, how Hunt and the congregation are being supported, what the anti-racism work will involve, and whether the Archdeacon was at the supper. The diocese replied on Tuesday evening.
What happens next, then, is partly clear and partly not. What is known is that the matter has been referred to a diocesan process, and that the diocese says it will work with the individual concerned and the church over the coming months. What is not yet known is the form that process will take, who is responsible for it, or what the promised anti-racism work will involve. Those questions remain unanswered in the diocese’s response so far.
Anyone connected to the parish who wants to raise a concern can contact the parish office on 020 8788 4414. The Diocese of Southwark’s safeguarding team takes enquiries on 020 7939 9441 and at safeguarding@southwark.anglican.org, Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm.
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The sequence of events, as reported, ran over five days: the parish told the congregation on Friday that the Archdeacon would attend Sunday’s services; Hunt’s resignation letter was read out in full on Sunday and then emailed to the wider congregation; questions were put to the parish and the diocese on Monday; and the diocese replied on Tuesday evening. The resignation itself concerns the Seminar Supper of 24 September, more than a month before the letter was read out.
Image: St Mary’s Church, Putney (library photo, Wikimedia Commons).
