As we approach Black History Month, Karen Campbell, a United Reformed Church Related Community Worker (CRCW), reflects on the transatlantic slave trade and its continuing legacies for people of African and African descent. Black History Month runs from 1-31 October.

Torn from home;
displaced from land;
ripped from all I've ever known -
the soil I walk
the air I breathe -
nothing left to call my own.

West Park United Reformed Church (URC), Harrogate, will be making use of its proximity to the 2019 Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) Road World Championships' finishing line by welcoming the competition’s organisers to its church.

The event runs from 22-29 September, and former Tour de France winner Geraint Thomas will ride for Great Britain in the time trial on 25 September, along with national champion Alex Dowsett.

A resource that links October’s lectionary readings with Black History Month has been developed by the United Reformed Church’s Global and Intercultural Ministries department. 

Black History Month provides people with the opportunity to highlight and celebrate the achievements and contributions of people of colour, and in the process explore the latent histories and narratives that shape our lives together.

Each week’s lectionary reading also links with a social justice focus as identified by the Joint Public Issues Team’s (JPIT) public issues calendar.

by Daniel Macaulay

Thanks to the Revd Andrew Reed, a Congregational Minister, the Royal Hospital for Neuro-disability (RHN) has been transforming lives since 1854. Nearly 1.4m people with brain injuries are admitted into A&E every year and the RHN provides rehabilitation and long-term care for some of them.

Known as one of the great philanthropists of the 19th century, the minister established The Hospital for Incurables in Carshalton, Surrey in 1854. In 1863 the hospital found its permanent home – Melrose Hall, on West Hill, Putney and its name was changed to the Royal Hospital for Neuro-disability in 1995.