Racial Justice

 Today I'm honoured and delighted to be appointed as the first Chair of the Racial Justice Board of the Church of England.

Here's the announcement from the CofE website, with why I think this is important and some FAQs:

Archdeacon of Liverpool to be Chair of Racial Justice Board

30/09/2025

The Ven Dr Miranda Threlfall-Holmes, Archdeacon of Liverpool, is to head the new oversight body for racial justice work in the Church of England, it was announced today.

Archdeacon Miranda will take up the post of Chair of the Racial Justice Board, working alongside its Deputy Chairs, the Church of England’s lead bishops for racial justice Dr Rosemarie Mallett, Bishop of Croydon, and Arun Arora, Bishop of Kirkstall.

The Board, a committee of the Archbishops’ Council, will oversee the work of the Church of England’s Racial Justice Unit in encouraging and fostering racial justice initiatives and programmes and sharing best practice in this area across the Church.

Archdeacon Miranda said: "I am honoured to be appointed to this role, and I look forward to working closely with Bishop Arun, Bishop Rosemarie and the Racial Justice Unit.

"Racial justice is an essential component of the justice and righteousness that the Church hungers and thirsts for.

"Our parishes and dioceses are on the front line of hearing and responding to injustice and delivering on our commitment to racial justice, and the Racial Justice Unit is there to resource, equip and support them in this.  

"This new Board is being established to make sure that this vital work is fully integrated into the life of the Church."

Bishop Rosemarie and Bishop Arun said: "Miranda is a gifted theologian and dedicated priest with a passion for seeing justice and equity reflected and lived out in all aspects of church life and in society. We are really delighted that she is taking up this role and we are looking forward to working with her."

The Rev Guy Hewitt, the Church of England's Director of Racial Justice, said: "I'm very pleased to be working with Miranda in this key mission for the Church of England. This appointment is the next step in implementing the recommendation of the final report of the Archbishops' Commission for Racial Justice, which called for a robust structure of governance to ensure that racial justice becomes a normal part of the policy and practice of the Church of England."

• The Ven Dr Miranda Threlfall-Holmes is an author, public speaker and theologian and has been a priest for more than 20 years. She has been Archdeacon of Liverpool since 2023.

• The Board replaces the Committee for Minority Ethnic Anglican Concerns (CMEAC) and is part of a new governance framework set up after following the recommendations set out in the Archbishops’ Commission for Racial Justice final report.

• In addition to the Chair, who must be a member of the Archbishops' Council, and Deputy Chairs, who are the lead bishops on racial justice, 10 further members of the Racial Justice Board will be appointed as follows: three elected by the General Synod, three appointed by the Appointments Committee (a commission of the General Synod and the Archbishops' Council); and four independent members appointed through a public process with expertise in diversity and inclusion, equality and social justice.

• Under the new arrangements, a Racial Justice Panel, to act as an external, independent scrutiny body, is being set up to ensure that progress is made on racial justice in the Church of England.