THE DIFFERENCE A MAN CAN MAKE . . .

You may have guessed that once my weekly email is finished and sent off for distribution, I am open to (hopeful of) receiving some sort of inspiration for the next one. I was listening to Morning Prayer on Wednesday, led by Bishop Martin and his wife Jutta, when he reminded us that it was the day we commemorate .

What do you know about William Wilberforce? Had you asked me prior to Wednesday I would have said, simply, that he was responsible for bringing about the abolition of the Slave Trade in - and would probably have remembered that he was a Christian. Shame on me - because he deserves more than me dredging my (inefficient) memory bank.

So this week - you are going to read about a man that made a difference . . .

Born on August 24 1759, the third child of Robert and Elizabeth Wilberforce, William grew up in Hull, surrounded by wealth. The family were merchants trading with Russia and the Baltic states. Robert Wilberforce died when William was only 9, and William was sent to stay with a childless aunt and uncle, by whom he was introduced to the evangelical preaching of the ex-slave trader John Newton. This influence was short-lived as his mother feared her son might become “poisoned” by “this Methodism”, so William was brought home and enrolled at School near . Due to his grandfather’s wealth and involvement in local politics, Wilberforce grew up among the wealthy and elite. He attended Cambridge University, where he began a lasting friendship with a future Prime Minister, William Pitt the Younger. He was loved by everyone who met him, for he was witty, charming and had a great singing voice. At the age of only 21 he was voted in as Member of Parliament for Hull, and remained an MP for various constituencies for 45 years.

Wilberforce was not blessed with good health - his eyes were weak and painful, he was prone to colitis, and his body so weak that for many years he had to be held up by a crude metal frame. in 1797 he married Barbara Spooner, a marriage that brought him great joy, although they were to know the grief of the death of their daughter, and the ineptitude of the eldest of their four sons left his parents living in poverty.

Wilberforce was not always passionate about the abolition of the slave trade, but whilst finding some success in politics, his eyes were opened to the injustices of slavery and the slave trade by the Quakers, who were long-standing abolitionists. They and other opponents of the slave trade formed an Abolition Committee and needed a ‘champion’ in Parliament, and in Wilberforce they found their man. Through his conversion to Christianity, he saw things differently from many of those around him. He could not look at the Africans as property or people without feelings as so many of his contemporaries did. He could not turn away from the inhumane treatment of slaves.

As with social issues back then - (and now) - a whole nation was entrenched in support of slavery - it is simply that eyes weren’t open, ears weren’t listening. The Slave Trade was a source of huge income, it was just ‘accepted’, and the battle to get it noticed before reformation could start had been long. The Abolition of the Slave Trade Act was given Royal Assent on 25 March 1807, and represented the fruition of 18 years of persistence for Wilberforce - his first bill outlawing the slave trade in the British Empire in 1789. In his speech on that day he said: “You may choose to look the other way, but you can never again say that you did not know”. However, it took another 26 years for parliament to finally vote for a comprehensive ban on the practice of slavery itself throughout the colonies of the British Empire.

William Wilberforce deserves to be seen as more than ‘a single-issue’ man. Whilst his name will forever be associated with the great achievement of abolition, he was actually a man of many socially-based interests. Having converted to Christianity he believed that God had set before him two great objectives: the suppression of the slave trade and the reformation of the nation’s morals. Enlisting support from leading figures in church and state - and King George III, Wilberforce made private morality a matter of public concern. Amongst other things, laws restricting drinking, swearing and gaming on Sundays were enforced. He gave away one quarter of his income to the poor. His faith had prompted him to become an advocate for sweeping social reform, including the improvement of factory conditions. He fought the cause of “climbing boys” (chimney sweeps) and single mothers. He sought the welfare of soldiers, sailors and animals. He established Sunday Schools and orphanages for “criminal poor children”. His homes were havens for the marginalized and dispossessed. William Wilberforce made a difference.

His deteriorating health meant the Wilberforce had to finally hand over his reigns (to Thomas Foxwell Buxton), but he continued his involvement. On 26 July 1833, the final passage of the emancipation bill was ensured when a committee of the House of Commons worked out key details. Three days later, Wilberforce died. Parliament continued working out the final details and later Buxton wrote: “On the very night on which we were successfully engaged in the House of Commons in passing the clause of the Act of Emancipation . . . the spirit of our friend left the world. The day which brought the termination of his labours was the termination of his life”. (cslewisinstitute.org)

(May I say that there is so much out there about William Wilberforce. He did not act alone in winning his long fought fight for justice, but he was hugely instrumental in its success. There is a great deal more for you to read should you so choose)

How very disappointed William Wilberforce would be to know that slavery is not yet defeated. Modern day slavery is a deep and dark stain upon global society. But his attitude was, and still would be, that of: “I will carry on, I will not be beaten”. Not many of us have been, nor are likely to be politicians. Maybe some of you reading this already do or maybe will lead a very public life - but (probably) the vast majority of us don’t. However the part that we play in our own lives and of those around us is, nonetheless, important. Cardinal John Henry Newman said that God appoints a task for each of us, a task given to no-one else. We each need to find what the task is and never lose sight of it. For Wilberforce the task became clear seven years after entering the Commons and despite the set-backs and defeats he never gave up. The last word comes from William Wilberforce

“Is it not the great end of religion, and in particular the glory of Christianity, to extinguish the malignant passions; to curb the violence, to control the appetites and to smooth the asperities of man; to make us good husbands, good fathers, good friends; and to render us active and useful in the discharge of the relative social and civil duties?”

A favourite Scriptural verse of William Wilberforce:

Heavenly Father, we pray that you will take the bruised, battered and broken pieces of our lives., and by your grace make us whole again. In our healing, touch us with compassion for those held in modern day slavery. Help us work to make our small place in this world a better, fairer and more compassionate place to be. Amen

With my love to you and your families Cathy [email protected]