St James in the City
2025 marked 250 years since St James in the City first opened its doors in Liverpool. To mark this significant milestone, the church is inviting the wider community to join in a weekend of events, including a powerful and thought-provoking gathering that explores its history, honours its heritage, and looks ahead to the future.
As part of the commemorations, St James in the City has been participating in the Diocese of Liverpool’s Slavery Truth Project – a creative and reflective initiative that supports churches in uncovering and responding to their historical connections to the Transatlantic Trade in Enslaved Africans.
With the support of the Diocese’s Racial Justice Team and local artist Ali Harwood, a dedicated focus group from the church has been engaging deeply with artefacts in the building and researching stories from the surrounding area.
Through this process, they’ve created a series of artistic responses expressions of lament, learning, and hope—that aim to reflect both the weight of the past and a commitment to justice today.
Now, the church is opening its doors once more, this time inviting others to share in what they’ve discovered.
A spokesperson from St James in the City had to say
“We have found that the truth is far more murky than we often would like to admit, people can do wonderful things and horrific things at the same time. We hope to grow in humility and faithfulness to Christ as we reflect on our past and seek God for the impact of this to be long lasting.”