October is Black History Month
Last week and this coming week I am in the very lucky position to be able to collaborate with Rev Carla Thomas.
Pastor Carla is the minister of a New Testament Church of God congregation in Bell Green in Lower Sydenham. Her church is one of many thriving black churches in London. I asked Carla where the international headquarters of her church were, to which she replied “in the USA”.
I have always understood that in the United States the NTCG is not a black church. I asked Carla why this was so; in the UK these are entirely black and black led churches and in the USA they are not. I learned something new about my own church and its recent history by listening to Carla’s answer.
When Carla’s parents’ generation arrived here in the UK they started attending their local mainstream Anglican and Roman catholic churches, but they were literally told they were not welcome in these churches. In response they stayed away and formed their own congregations, asking the New Testament Church of God in the USA to give them structure and a sense of belonging, which they duly obtained.
Bernhard Schunemann
27 October 2024
