Look at their shoes
Claire Walford
A poignant church service to remember victims of modern slavery
Earlier this year, the Mothers’ Union in Portishead Deanery held its annual Deanery service at Holy Trinity Cleeve and chose to focus on victims of modern slavery. They decorated the church with shoes and read poems from Waiting in the Wilderness (a Clewer Lent course) to bring the stories of modern slavery victims to life.
Revd Daile Wilshere, the vicar of Holy Trinity Church, Cleeve and St Barnabas, Claverham, explains how the service came about: “we have known Bishop Alastair Redfern, the chair of The Clewer Initiative, for a long time as he often leads services for us. We knew of his passion to raise awareness of modern slavery and involvement with The Clewer Initiative. We also have a strong Mothers’ Union group here and the members suggested we run a Clewer Lent course this year. We approached Bishop Alastair and wonderfully, he offered to lead us through a course. Our time together was extremely thought provoking and people particularly appreciated praying creatively for victims of modern slavery.
“In the Spring, when we began thinking about the annual Mothers’ Union Deanery Service, it seemed like the obvious next step to dedicate it to remembering victims of modern slavery. Raising awareness of modern slavery is a focus of the Mothers’ Union nationally and the Deanery service provided a platform for us to share some of what we had learnt on the Lent course to a wider audience.
“One of the things that particularly struck us during the sessions was when Bishop Alastair talked about hand car washes and looking at the workers’ shoes. He explained that a sign of modern slavery can be poor personal protective equipment (PPE) and clothing. This idea of ‘looking at their shoes’ resonated with us and sparked a creative idea for the church service.
“We decorated the church with different pairs of shoes and based the service around four poems from Waiting in the Wilderness (a Clewer Lent course). Each of these poems tells the story of a different victim of modern slavery and once they were read out, we then prayed in light of their story. As each poem was read, someone placed a pair of shoes that could have been worn by the person in the poem, on the altar. This was an incredibly powerful moment for everyone in the congregation.
“Many people were touched by the poems and shoes and talked about it for weeks afterwards. There was something extremely evocative about the shoes scattered around the church – I believe that shoes tell stories and bring a humanity and individuality to the huge, faceless statistics. Throughout history, shoes have become powerful symbols representing people who have suffered, people who have been displaced, and people whose dignity has been denied. It was helpful to have a visual aid to bring the stories of modern slavery and exploitation to life.
“We would love other churches or Mothers’ Union groups to consider using our service idea – it could even work as the basis for a service on Anti-Slavery Day in October. Our outline is available to download (see below) for anyone who is interested.”
Bishop Alastair Redfern adds: "The Deanery service was a marvellous example of how The Clewer Initiative’s resources can be used in new and challenging ways. The theme of shoes reminded me that everyone is walking a journey and helped us especially remember those whose footsteps are controlled and weighed down. The poems opened up insights and possible responses about welcoming those with different experiences and the altar 'held' our journeys and the promise of God’s blessing."
Andrea Stoddart, a representative from the Cleeve and Claverham Mothers’ Union, concludes:" It was a very moving ceremony - from the symbolic taking of the shoes up to the altar after each reading of the four poignant poems to the wonderful address by Bishop Alastair. There was a buzz as people left the service, talking about what they had heard, what they would look for and how they would be spreading the word. "
Service sheet outline
If you would like to organise a similar service in your church, please feel free to use this outline as inspiration (PDF and Word doc available).
