BAME student group
If you identify as BAME (Black, Asian, or Minority Ethnic) you are welcomed to join our student-led Trinity BAME group, which meets every 3-4 weeks for lunch, plans occasional socials, and shares ideas, resources, and articles through a What’s App group. The group has four main goals:
1. Prepare
Firstly, this group helps prepare us for life after college. Sometimes in ministry, ethnicity may be a factor in how colleagues and congregations respond to us. Whether we like it or not, our ethnicity may matter. This is a group where we can discuss what that’s like, work through some of our struggles, and address these issues as formational issues.
2. Develop Our Calling
Secondly, this group seeks to encourage us in our calling. We are all training to be church leaders or priests, and part of that calling is to represent people. When you are in ministry there will be people who will identify with you simply because of the way you look. This presents a unique opportunity for mission, and in this group we will explore what that means in terms of our calling.
3. Broaden Our Reading
Thirdly, we’ll have a chance to broaden our theology. Often our thinking, spirituality, and practices are influenced by Western Christianity and culture. In this group, we share articles and resources by BAME scholars, which will sharpen our critical thinking and give an edge to our theological reflections and assignments. It is important for us to find our voices and to be theologically informed as we speak into contemporary issues.
4. Support / Networking
Finally, this group is a place of ongoing support, where friendships made at Trinity can continue into ministry. We’ve also struck up a dialogue with the BAME society at Bristol University and the Alternative Asians Association. As a group, we might attend some of their events and join in their conversations, hopefully bringing with us a Christian perspective.