Report by Lester Wagman
Photos: Marc Simmons
This evening, after a moment of silence to remember the victims of October 7th and those in Israel who have lost their lives in the conflict since, Rabbi Green welcomed the Bishop of Willesden to address us in response to his invitation from our Chair, Alan Moss, arranged by Judith Bloom. His bishopric includes the borough of Hillingdon so Northwood and Ruislip is on his home turf. Bishop Lusa has spoken out publicly many times on the theme of antisemitism.
He said relationships between the Church and Judaism had improved significantly since the second world war but he explained that the Church of England had more recently acknowledged and expressed repentance for its role in centuries of discrimination against Judaism dating back to before the expulsion of Jews in 1290.
Published in 2019, their teaching document, God’s Unfailing Word, speaks of attitudes towards Judaism over many centuries as providing a “fertile seed-bed for murderous antisemitism”. It recognises that Christian theology played a part in the stereotyping and persecution of Jewish people which ultimately led to the Holocaust. It urges Anglicans and other Christians not only to repent of the “sins of the past” towards their Jewish neighbours but to be alert to and actively challenge such attitudes or stereotypes. It makes clear that the Christian-Jewish relationship should be viewed as a “gift of God to the Church” to be received with care, respect and gratitude.
The document includes an honest and challenging afterword by the Chief Rabbi, Ephraim Mirvis, in which he speaks of “profound friendship” but also a “substantial misgiving” on the question of evangelism. The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, responds in a foreword, describing the Chief Rabbi’s reflection as doing Anglicans a “great service” and making clear that Christians sharing their faith must do so with “gentleness and grace” and recognising the “weight of that history”.
Bishop Lusa stressed that the Church regarded it’s relationship with Judaism as one of friendship. He may clear that that true friends are those whose empathy and support you can count on when in need, even though you may not agree with them on everything they say.
In this vein he bravely tackled the delicate subject of the “Kairos Palestine declarations”, written between 2009 and 2025, which attracted much Controversy this summer, and over which the Chief Rabbi took up with the Archbishop of Canterbury. He stressed that the precise meaning of words is important and that the original Synod motion was amended, changing a proposed call to “receive” the Kairos Palestine declarations – statements produced by Palestinian Christians – to a call to “hear” them as “heartfelt expressions” of their experiences.
Supporting the amended wording, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Sarah Mullally, told Synod that hearing the “heartfelt expressions of the lived experience of Palestinian Christians” in the documents does not mean agreeing with everything in them. Bishop Lusa commented that in debate we often say “I hear you” but this doesn’t mean I agree with every word! Another amendment to the Synod statement reiterates the repentance for the Church’s historic contribution both to antisemitism and to the situation now affecting the Palestinian people, reaffirming commitment to inter-faith dialogue, including Christian Jewish dialogue.
Finally the Bishop took a wide range of enthusiastic and sometimes testing questions from a 75 strong audience but the evening ended in smiles all round and a renewed pledge and thanks for friendship by Rabbi Green.
Lusa Nsenga-Ngoy was consecrated as Bishop of Willesden in 2022. He originates from the “very” Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) where he was ordained and since arriving in the UK and joining the Church of England he has served as Vicar of St Aidan, Gravesend, was BAME Mission and Ministry Enabler in the Diocese of Leicester, where he oversaw an increase in representation and participation of those from UK Minority Ethnic backgrounds. He is a trustee of St Mellitus College, Church Army, and deputy chair of the Board of Initiatives of Change UK. His interests include ethical leadership, storytelling, and poetry. Lusa feels strongly about issues of social social justice, and has worked with Making Herstory: an organisation working to end gender-based violence.