Last night 60 people attended a screening of the MJR documentary ​‘After the Flood: the church, slavery and reconciliation' at the Light Cinema in Stockport. Organised by Stockport Racial Equality Partnership and United Stockport Methodist Circuit In partnership with the Movement for Reconciliation and Justice charity, the screening was followed by a conversation and Q&A hosted by S-REP's Aba Graham with panel members: Rev Cathy Bird, Rev Raj Patta and historian Linford Sweeney.

​If you would like to host a screening of After the Flood, find out more here.

Screenings of 'After the Flood: the church, slavery and reconciliation' continue to take place around the UK and other countries. Coming up during Black History Month are two in Greater Manchester. Both followed by discussion.

• ​Monday October 23, 1pm, Brunswick Church. Free, no booking necessary.
• Wednesday October 25, 6:30pm, the Light Cinema, Stockport. Free, click here to book a ticket.

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This article by Jane Shaw in the November issue of Prospect magazine discusses the Church of England's new £100m fund for “projects focused on improving opportunities for communities impacted by historic transatlantic chattel slavery”, saying it should be called what it is: reparations. Coming out of an admission of complicity in the trade of captive human beings known as the transatlantic slave trade, the church seeks reconciliation with the communities who suffered. The article asks if this can be found and looks at the history of calls for reparations from within the church.

In setting up this fund the Church of England has joined other institutions such as Lloyd's insurance and Greene King Brewers and the group 'Heirs of Slavery, composed of descendants of some of Britain's wealthiest slave-owning families, in taking action. Though welcomed as a first step it is pointed out  that the £100m sum "is less than 1 per cent of the Church Commissioners’ £10.3bn fund and will be taken from its income over a period of nine years, so that the original endowment remains untouched." 

A useful read to go alongside watching the MJR documentary ‘After the Flood: the church, slavery and reconciliation'. Read the article here.

The MJR documentary film 'After the Flood' was one of 6 nominees in the TV/Video category at this year's Sandford Awards, which took place in Manchester on June 21. The deserving winner was 'Children of the Ukraine', runner-up 'David Baddiel: Jews Don't Count'. The other nominees were all BBC, ITV C4 and RTE commissions, so we felt proud to be there at all! It says much about the amazing job director Sheila Marshall and her team did with the comparatively small budget we were able to give them. Lots of nice things were said to us about 'After the Flood' on the evening, and our hope is that it will open new opportunities for the film to be screened more widely and to access more resources for MJR to promote the film. Like to help? Please email us.

Photos L-R (click for a larger image): Sheila Marshall and Paul Keeble with Rev Ian Rutherford (host of the first Manchester screening), and Rabbi Warren Elf (Faith Network 4 Manchester), Alton Bell on the ATF preview film, presentation to the winners, ATF Commendation.

The screening of MJR documentary ‘After the Flood: the church, slavery and reconciliation' at the University of Manchester on April 19 was followed by a Q&A session with an appreciative but questioning audience. The panel consisted of: ​

• Professor Robert Beckford, Director of the Institute of Climate and Social Justice, University of Winchester.
• Dr Elizabeth Henry, Racial Justice Advisor/Consultant and Activist, former National Advisor for Minority-Ethnic Anglican Concerns.
• Phyllis Thompson, Former Director of Education for the New Testament Church of God, England and Wales.
• Fr Azariah France-Williams, Rector of Ascension Church, Hulme.
• Dr Natalie Zaceck, Senior Lecturer, English and American Studies. Research areas: social and cultural history, race, slavery and abolition, gender and sexuality, material culture, the history of urbanism and the built environment.

Organiser Prof Dawn Edge commented: "My overall sense was that the questions from the attendees reflected a general desire to see real change, reconciliation and  reparations. Your responses were informative and provided practical solutions to a difficult discussion, reflecting  that whilst Manchester University has acknowledged the need to move beyond discussion,  the work must continue in earnest. I do hope that we  can continue to work with you to ensure that together  we can move this agenda forward."

The event was fully booked meaning some were turned away. This meant a number of 'no-shows' was a disappointment.

'After the Flood' continues to have an impact and generate discussion and reflection as it is screened in various places around the country. As we approach and pass milestones such as the 30th anniversary of the murder of Stephen Lawrence and the 75th anniversary of Windrush, the issues it raises remain important. If you would like to host a screening where you are please send MHR an email. If you would like to hire or purchase the film click here.

A special course, based on the MJR film ‘After the Flood: the church, slavery and reconciliation' will be a part of the summer term at Manchester Bible School, based at our partner Nazarene Theological College. The course will take place over 4 Monday evenings from June 12 to July 3, 7:30-9:30pm.

• June 12: Screening of After the Flood. followed by refreshments (facilitated by MBS/NTC and Beatrice Smith, MJR)
• June 19: Reflection session led by Dr Clara Rushbrook (Luther King House)
• June 26: Informal Q&A and discussion on film themes – Part 1. Led by Beatrice Smith (Churches Together in England, Spring Harvest & MJR Trustee) .
• July 3: Informal Q&A and discussion on film themes – Part 2: ’So what?' led by Ven Karen Lund (Archdeacon of Manchester & MJR Trustee).

Cost is £25 unwaged; £35 waged. The film screening on June 12 is open to all and will cost £5. More info and booking will be available shortly on the Manchester Bible School website.

The MJR documentary ‘After the Flood: the church, slavery and reconciliation' has been shortlisted for a Sandford Award. These are the UK’s most prestigious broadcast awards for radio, TV and online programmes and content that explore religious, spiritual or ethical themes. 'After the Flood' has been shortlisted for the TV/Video award – see the list here. Winners will be announced at a special awards ceremony in Manchester’s Whitworth Hall on 21 June.

October 28 was the annual Thomas Clarkson Day at Manchester Cathedral, hosted by Dean Rogers Govender. which this year featured a screening of MJR documentary ‘After the Flood: the church, slavery and reconciliation'. The screening was followed by a panel discussion chaired by MJR trustee Paul Keeble. Panelists were After the Flood director Sheila Marshall, Dr. Andrew Boayke, Lecturer in Religions and Theology, University of Manchester and Rev Ian Rutherford, minister of Methodist Central Hall. A lively Q&A included discussion on 'power footprints', reparations, comparisons with the legacy of oppression of working class 'white wage slaves' and how to move from words to actions.

One of the attendees Elinor Chohan MBE DL said: "An important and thought provoking event marking #ClarksonDay. I recommend you watch After The Flood documentary on UK churches, slavery and racial equality."

​Find out more about Thomas Clarkson here.

On October 31, to mark Black History Month, international charity Christian Aid will be showing MJR documentary ‘After the Flood: the church, slavery and reconciliation' to all of its staff worldwide. Christian Aid UK Climate Justice Church Programme Manager for Black Majority Churches and MJR trustee Sarah-Jane Nii-Adjei said: "Christian Aid has a global ecumenical platform and will be raising the profile of this film to staff from the UK (including colleagues from Ireland, Scotland and Wales) and countries we work in. Different teams can then contact MJR if they would like to licence the film for training and development purposes." The internal event will include a panel discussion with Rev Alton Bell, Chair of MJR and Prof Robert Beckford sharing more about the film.