As we enter into Black History Month, it is a good opportunity to share stories that remind us of the diversity that has existed in the Church of England over many years. These stories show diversity in the Church from the past and inspire us to seek a more diverse church of the future.

Brian Mackay- The first black priest in the Church of England?

Bryan Mackey is generally credited with being the first Black British clergyman in the Church of England. He was born in Jamaica to a white father (a gentleman, William Mackey) and a Black mother. He was educated at Brasenose College, Oxford, where he read for a BA degree.

He was ordained as a Deacon in May 1793 and as a Priest a year later. At the time of his ordination, he became curate of the Anglican parish of Wootton Rivers, Wiltshire in May 1793. Subsequently, he became the rector of the parish of Coates in Gloucestershire in July 1799 and additionally the curate of neighbouring Sapperton parish in June 1813.

James Arthur Harley -An Edwardian Priest

The Rev James Harley (1873-1943) was born in Antigua, 30 years after emancipation, to a white father and a black mother. The young Harley studied at one of the best schools on the island and then worked in primary schools.

In 1899, he made the 400-mile journey across the Atlantic, arriving in a United States with the intention of studying at the oldest seminary of the Episcopal Church. However, he was sent to King Hall, the theology school for training black students for holy orders at Howard University, in Washington, DC and studied there amidst the tensions of being a mixed race person in America. To support himself, he worked as a Sunday-school teacher, lay preacher, and choir master at St Luke’s, Washington  where he met his future wife, Josephine Maritcha Lawson.

In 1907, Harley came to England being later joined by Josephine in July 1910. He served as a curate in Shepshed and Chilset. You can read more of his story here.