CHRISTIANS from across south-east Hampshire and the Isle of Wight will commit themselves to fighting modern-day slavery this weekend (March 23-25) as they remember the past.

Chaplains the Rev Simon Rundell and the Rev James Tabor in the cage they'll spend time in to draw students' attention to the issues of modern-day slavery

Churchgoers from the Anglican diocese of Portsmouth will travel to London on Saturday (March 24) for a walk of witness to mark the 200th anniversary of the abolition of the slave trade.

They’ll join the Archbishops of Canterbury and York for a silent walk through the streets of central London to remember the brutal treatment of Africans who died on slave ships or suffered on plantations.

The next day (March 25) – designated as ‘Freedom Day’ – will see BBC Radio 3’s Evensong broadcast from Portsmouth Cathedral at 4pm to signify the role that the city played in the slave trade. The Anglican Bishop of Portsmouth, the Rt Rev Kenneth Stevenson, who is recovering from leukaemia, will record his sermon for the broadcast at home.

College chaplains will take it in turns to be locked in a cage outside St Vincent College, Gosport, on Friday (March 23) to draw students’ attention to the issue of modern-day slavery. The seven chaplains will take it in turns to sit in the cage for an hour at a time, giving out leaflets to students.

These are just three of many events that aim both to mark the bicentenary and to lobby governments to act on modern-day equivalents of slavery – including child labour and sex trafficking. Worshippers will remember the contribution of MP William Wilberforce, whose Christian faith prompted him to campaign for abolition for 20 years before the act was finally given royal assent on 25 March 1807.

Canon Nick Ralph, social responsibility adviser for Portsmouth’s Anglican diocese, said: “In considering the social progress that has been made since those events 200 years ago, and the place the Church had in confronting that injustice, it’s important to recognise that slavery still continues to be a modern problem. People continue to be exploited and enslaved in a variety of ways, such as though child labour or sex trafficking. It happens here today, and there is evidence of women being trafficked through Portsmouth ferry port.”

The Anglican diocese has organised a coachload of churchgoers to go to London for the Walk of Witness. They will take part in a reflection at Whitehall, before the two archbishops, and church leaders from the West Indies and Ghana, lead the three-mile walk to Kennington Park. Much of it will be in silence, apart from occasional drumming and a lament sung by singers. There will then be a large-scale act of repentance and restoration, and walkers will be urged to re-commit themselves to live by the values of the gospel. For details of the event, see www.makingourmark.org.uk

The night before (March 23), youngsters from St Jude’s Church, Southsea, will lead a prayer vigil on the issue from 9pm until midnight in the Kent Road church. It will form part of the ‘Encounter Zone’ of the Friday Fridge – the late-night drop-in venue that provides a “spiritual chill-out” for those on their way home from pubs and clubs.

Portsmouth’s Anglican cathedral will host a schools event from June 4-8 marking the bicentenary. “Free For All” uses drama, dance, music and creative workshops to explore the story of the abolition movement and slavery in today’s world. Nine to 13-year-olds will join professional actors for a public performance at the end of the week. See www.setallfree.net for details.

Professional Christian theatre company Riding Lights will tour their play “African Snow” around the UK from March until June. It tells the story of converted slave trader John Newton and Olaudah Equiano, a leading black voice in the abolitionist movement. It comes to the Hackney Empire, London, from May 29-June 2, and to the Corn Exchange, Brighton, from June 19-23. See www.ridinglights.org for details.

And Portsmouth’s Royal Naval Museum is hosting a special exhibition about the Navy’s role in patrolling the seas of West Africa in the 60 years after slavery was abolished. The exhibition is entitled ‘Chasing Freedom’. See www.historicdockyard.co.uk for details.