Sermon-Unto thee shall all flesh come

A sermon given at Evensong at St Giles-in-the-Fields on Sunday 6th October 2024 inspired by the life and writings of abolitionist and radical Robert Wedderburn one of the ‘St Giles Blackbirds’ and readings from Deuteronomy 26.1-11 and John 6.26-35. This sermon was given on Harvest Sunday and during Black History Month.

Thou visited the earth and blessed it and crowneth the year with thy goodness. 

Reminding us of God’s providence made visible in the bounty of creation, the glorious piece of music the choir sang earlier has become a harvest festival classic.

It’s the final part of a much longer piece based on the text of Psalm 65, which many believe was written for the Jewish Feast of Tabernacles, marking the end of the agricultural year which, this year, will be celebrated in a few weeks time. 

First published in 1743, the text of that longer work, ‘Thou, O God, Art Praised in Zion,’ omits selected verses of the psalm, including this phrase: 

“Thou that hearest the prayer, * unto thee shall all flesh come.”

Perhaps Maurice Greene, who was Professor of Music at Cambridge and Master of the King’s Musick in the court of George II, found it hard to weave those words into his verse anthem?

Or perhaps the idea that “all flesh” shall come to God was felt to be an uncomfortable thought at a time when Britain was the world’s biggest slave-trading nation? A time when a significant proportion of the bounteous harvest of the fruits of the earth - especially sugar and coffee - was the product of human trafficking. Preferable, perhaps, to leave out that verse from the anthem?

We’ll probably never know the reason for the omission . But someone who is likely to have held the latter view is Robert Wedderburn. One of the few “St Giles Blackbirds” about whom a detailed written account exists.

Wedderburn became a vocal critic of the establishment - placed on a list of 33 of the most dangerous reformers in Britain. Sent to prison at least twice and visited there by William Wilberforce to whom his last, graphic and semi-autobiographical text “The Horrors of Slavery” is dedicated. 

Wedderburn rallied against an establishment which, he felt (with very good reason) was complicit in perpetuating those horrors. Restricting access to the liberating freedom which God intends every one of his creatures to enjoy - and that we find at the root of our readings from scripture this evening. Both of which were among those passages omitted from copies of the “Slave Bible” authorised by the then Bishop of London for use in the British Colonies. 

Robert Wedderburn reserved particular contempt for Anglican clergy, 96 of whom were later compensated as slave owners following the abolition of the trade. 

He wrote: “Beware of the clergy……listen to them as far as your reason dictates of a future state, but never suffer them to interfere in your worldly affairs; for they are cunning, and therefore more capable of vice than you are.” 

Consider yourselves duly warned!

Born and raised in Jamaica, Robert Wedderburn arrived in this parish in 1778 aged seventeen after serving in the British Navy. In the infamous Rookeries - or slums - around this church he lived as part of a community of “Blackbirds” - most of whom worked as low paid actors, labourers, street-sweepers, prize fighters or earned their living through illicit means. 

While he is thought to have spent some time in Coldbath Prison - which stood at the top of what is now Rosebery Avenue - Robert Wedderburn’s autobiography reminds us that the lives of “The Blackbirds” were varied - their history more nuanced than it is often presented. 

While many of the Blackbirds were slaves who fought for the British in the American Revolutionary Wars in return for their freedom, Wedderburn was born free. 

But while never a slave himself, he was a witness and victim of the  system. His writings describe the brutal world into which he was born. 

The cost of the transatlantic slave trade was high. The financial outlay for slave owners was increased by the high mortality rate of the human cargo. In response, plantation owners in Jamaica - like Robert’s father - initiated a concerted effort to grow their own workforce, often forcing themselves on their female slaves to do so. Just for coffee. 

Roberts freedom was the product of a deal struck by his mother Rosanna who had been physically and sexually abused by her then owner. Wedderburn’s text reports one occasion when his mother was tied down and beaten up while pregnant with him. Sold back to Lady Douglas her previous, more benevolent owner, Rosanna agreed to work only if her son - later christened Robert - would be free. Lady Douglas remained a support to him throughout her life. As a young man Robert lived in Kingston with his grandmother known as “Talkee Amy”. An enterprising slave who had gained the trust of her masters and set herself up as a fixer of both legal and illegal transactions - an apprenticeship of sorts which may have helped Robert survive here in the St Giles Rookeries. 

Thanks to the influence of Lady Douglas in his youth, Robert was literate - and as a result at he was able to learn the craft of tailoring. But, for the most part, like the other St Giles Blackbirds, he lived in abject poverty. 

After hearing an itinerant preacher on the streets of Seven Dials he converted to Methodism, but soon became dissatisfied with the message of passive obedience being propagated by Methodist preachers. He became a Unitarian Minister and set up a chapel in the loft of a building on Hopkins Street near Soho Square, where bales of hay served as pews. The walls were said to be adorned with slogans promoting universal suffrage, working-class rights and the abolition of slavery - as well as insurrectionary revolution.

His preaching caught the attention of the authorities. The Home Secretary branded him a “notorious firebrand” and he served time for blasphemy in Dorchester Gaol. 

His sermons - some of which survive in print - focus on the inter-connectedness of oppression. Physical, spiritual and economic. 

How withholding the scriptures and their promise of freedom from an entire race is no different to placing them in a ball and chain. 

While embellished with many ideas that we would not consider to be orthodox or doctrinally correct, the consistent underlying message in the writings and preaching of Robert Wedderburn is that it is God - and not the establishment - who has ultimate authority and who is the arbiter - and source - of true freedom.

Throughout his life on the margins, including many years in the slums of this parish, Robert Wedderburn was determined to make that truth known. He embodied in every fibre of his being a deep connection between faith and social action because he knew that we cannot separate the ethics and morality of the harvest that nourishes us physically with that which nourishes us spiritually. 

The beginning of Psalm 65 - in full:

Thou, O God, art praised in Sion; * and unto thee shall the vow be performed in Jerusalem.
Thou that hearest the prayer, * unto thee shall all flesh come.
My misdeeds prevail against me: * O be thou merciful unto our sins.

Amen.


A Prayer for Black History Month 

Compassionate God,
who sent Jesus Christ
to deliver us from all manner of injustices and inequalities,
create in us new hearts and enlarged visions,
to see the image of God in every person
irrespective of background, race and ethnicity.
May we be generous in our love of others
as we work towards ending misunderstanding, racism and injustice; creating communities of human flourishing,
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
Amen.


Links : Martin Hoyles, author of “The Axe Laid to the Root – The Story of Robert Wedderburn” will be giving a talk about Robert Wedderburn and his life for the Camden Local History Society. After the talk there will be an opportunity for Q and As.  

Tuesday 15 October 2024 at 6pm
Camden Local Studies and Archives Centre
2nd Floor, Holborn Library, 
32-38 Theobalds Road, 
London 
WC1X 8PA

Admission Free        

This sermon I preached in May 2024 incorporates more stories about other St Giles Blackbirds : "Blackbirds, Pigeons and Doves - and our Wings of Faith"  

More information about the life and work of Robert Wedderburn can be found in two helpful books: 

The Horrors of Slavery and other writings by Robert Wedderburn edited by Iain McCalman and The Axe Laid to the Root – The Story of Robert Wedderburn by Martin Hoyles.