Christians don’t have to choose between love and justice

Love or justice? It isn’t really a choice, says Richard Reddie, as churches across Britain and Ireland mark Racial Justice Sunday by praying and taking action to address inequality and discrimination

Racial Justice Sunday (RJS) takes place annually on the second Sunday in February. While it falls on 11 February this year, it has, in previous years, coincided with Valentine’s Day, presenting clergy and pastors with something of a quandary over what they should focus on. Should they preach about love, in a nod to St Valentine, or should they focus on justice?

On such occasions, I often receive emails or phone calls from church leaders in which they say something like: “I was going to have a RJS service but, seeing as it was Valentine’s Day, I felt I had to talk about love”.