Chine McDonald to speak at the Micah Lecture

First published on: 8th July 2021

What will be the main themes of your talk at the lecture?

I’ll explore white saviourism in international development and social justice movements, as well as racism in wider society and the Church; and how dominant and pervasive narratives about God as white and male are problematic, preventing us from seeing every person – no matter their background – as made in God’s image and worthy of innate dignity, worth and value. I’ll explore what the Black Lives Matter movement and centuries of civil rights and racial justice movements have to say to us today; and how we can move beyond token gestures, to genuine allyship that leads to the flourishing of us all.

 

Why did you feel compelled to write your book ‘God Is Not A White Man: And Other Revelations’ and how did your own experience shape this?

I wanted to give voice to the experience of what it is like to be both black and female in a world that in many ways designed to elevate both whiteness and patriarchy. For me, as a Christian woman, I wanted to explore the effects of the literal depictions of God as both white and male. This was a lens through which I could explore white supremacy and patriarchy in all other areas of society, including international development, relationships and body image, politics and disappointingly, the Church.

The pervasive message that seeps in when you look at church leadership, or the theological voices that are listened to, or even the very notion of Christianity itself as being a white European religion – of course, while we might think it’s obvious God is not a white man, the practices of the Church have suggested otherwise.

 

What do you hope attendees will take away from the event?

I hope people will have their eyes opened to the issues of racial injustice that we see today, through listening to the effects of this injustice from one person’s perspective and seeing the world through the eyes of those of us who are black, female and Christian. I would hope that anyone who attends because they are troubled by a culture that insists everyone is equal in God’s sight yet fails to confront white supremacy, will be heartbroken by the reality in which we find ourselves, but yet feel a sense of urgency and a call to work to make things better.

 

Biography 

Chine McDonald is head of community fundraising & public engagement at Christian Aid. Prior to that, she led the media & PR team there and before that led in fundraising and communications roles in other faith-based charities. She read theology & religious studies at Cambridge University before training as a newspaper journalist and over the years has written for several regional and national publications. Chine is a regular contributor to BBC Religion & Ethics programmes, including Thought for the Day on Radio 4’s Today programme, the Daily Service, Pause for Thought and Prayer for the Day. She also sits on a number of charity boards, including Greenbelt Festival and Christians in Media. Chine regularly speaks and writes on issues of race and faith. Her second book God Is Not a White Man & Other Revelations was published by Hodder & Stoughton in May 2021.

 

This year's lecture is on 13 September at 7:00 pm and will be held in the Lady Chapel at Liverpool Cathedral.

Powered by Church Edit