ForMission College is an interdenominational higher education institution, with our students being drawn from many different networks and denominations. Around 50% of the students at ForMission were not born in the UK but minister in the UK. We rejoice in this diversity which helps us to fulfil our mandate: developing workers for the harvest.
The Chair of the Board of ForMission College, Dr Iain MacRobert, recently produced a statement regarding Black Lives Matter which was unanimously adopted by the college’s board. The statement reads as follows:
We, would like to convey our deepest sympathy and solidarity with all those who have or are suffering the injustice of racial prejudice and discrimination whether experienced in the past or today.
We want to make clear our belief that we are all made in the image and likeness of God (Genesis 1:26) and in the love of God for all people (John 3:16). We endorse the view: ‘black lives matter’. We are distressed with you over the pain and suffering experienced by our black and minority ethnic sisters and brothers historically and today.
Our vision is of a movement of people living in relationships marked by cultural and racial diversity, genuine love, and the deepest of friendships.
We in the UK profoundly regret the painful experiences so many have had as a result of institutional or systemic racism, government policy or personal racism.
We are committed to experiencing the full measure of unity that Christ prayed for us as recorded in the Gospel of John: that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me (John 17:21).
We believe that we who follow Jesus have been baptised into one body, and when one member suffers, we all suffer.
We already experience many blessings because of the inter-ethnic friendships we have at every level of the organisation but recognise we can do more.
We would like to hear from you if you are in need of support or have any recommendations for actions we can take to remove any barriers to our vision or to further that vision.
We recognise, of course, that everyone matters to God, and therefore to us. Many of every colour and culture have borne the weight of multiple forms of injustice, but at the moment it is our black and minority ethnic friends whose pain is in the spotlight and we want them to know we care and want to stand with them in the love of our mutual Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ.