SIX years ago, after an hour’s debate, the General Synod voted almost unanimously to call on the Church of England to speak out publicly against racism directed against Gypsies, Roma, and Travellers (GRT) (News, 1 March 2019); to encourage the local and national Church to make land available for new sites for them; and to appoint a chaplain to these communities in each of its 42 dioceses.
At the time, only two dioceses had such chaplains: Salisbury and Bath & Wells. One of them was Canon Jonathan Herbert, who co-wrote the paper that the Synod had debated. Eight dioceses now have chaplains, but Canon Herbert believes that he is the only one who is paid.
Antagonism towards the travelling community is often described as the last acceptable form of racism in this country. “For very good historical reasons, they have had to keep themselves separate to survive,” he explains, “and so they are not always well understood. There always seems to be this sense that Gypsies and Travellers are somehow a threat.
“The great gift of the Church is to be an agent of reconciliation here. The Church is more likely than anyone else to be trusted by these communities, partly because of the good practice of individual churches and clergy, and partly because so many Gypsies, Roma, and Travellers are Christians.”
Prebendary Joseph Fernandes, chaplain to Gypsy, Roma and Traveller people in London diocese
He himself has long worked with people on the margins, but he had little experience in this particular field when, in 2015, he was asked by Salisbury diocese to become a chaplain to Gypsies, Roma, and Travellers. “I had to overcome my fear, because the media portray them as people to be feared. I got over it fairly quickly, however, because nothing could be further from the truth.”
Prebendary Joseph Fernandes is chaplain to the GRT communities in the diocese of London. While serving his title in Oxford diocese, he had discovered that there was a large Romani community in the area that had been there since Victorian times. “It was a huge privilege to get to know them, and I thrived in that ministry,” he recalls. “I think I ‘got’ them really well, and they ‘got’ me, because, as I am Portuguese, in a way I am an outsider, like them.
“They’re very mindful of strangers, but the dog collar gains you a degree of respect, and, once they know you, the doors of the community open to you, and you are very much welcomed. I made really long-lasting friendships.”
Julie Gorman-Cliff, a therapist who does neurolinguistic work with clergy in the Durham diocese, has a foot in both camps. Her father was an Irish Traveller — the boxer Tyson Fury is her cousin — but her mother was from Cobham, in Surrey. “I feel like I’m a bridge between two very different worlds,” she says, “and my vocation is to speak the language of both to each other.”
She confirms that “there’s nothing better than a dog collar to work amongst Travellers, without a shadow of a doubt. There’s so much respect for it.”
She believes that forming relationships is fundamental to securing change. “There’s a lot of misunderstanding [of the travelling community], and a lot of not knowing; and then people fill in the gaps, and a lot of them fill in those gaps with the sensationalism in the media.
“If they meet people, one to one, and have a relationship with them, a lot of their views change, because they’ve had that empathic and enriched connection.”
WHAT progress has been made since 2019? Canon Herbert admits that the Church of England “has been dragging its feet a bit, but that’s to do with the pressure it is under financially”. In the diocese of Salisbury, he says, it’s “a slow process”.
Still, he insists, there has been “steady growth, and I think there is good will to do more. Of course, there are clergy we don’t even know about who will be doing really good funeral ministry with Travellers, for example. It’s a question of linking everything up and encouraging others to be involved, and saying it’s not really that difficult.”
Ivy Manning, Gypsy, Roma and Traveller Friendly Churches project co-ordinator
Still, there is resistance in some quarters. Prebendary Fernandes suggests that many parish clergy say: “I’ve got enough on my plate. The last thing I want is to be dealing with Travellers.”
“I’ll give a talk [to clergy] and explain all the issues, and then someone will say: ‘But they’re not law-abiding; they do whatever they want.’ I hear that all the time.”
Even when clergy are willing to engage, he says, more often than not the parish is not. “I’ve had colleagues who have actively tried to minister among travelling communities and it has been very costly for them, because their own congregations are not willing to build bridges.”
Gypsy, Roma and Traveller Friendly Churches (GRTFC) was launched in 2023 to support local congregations wanting to include GRT communities in the regular life of their churches, and to offer help appropriate to their circumstances, whether settled or “roadside”.
The GRFTC project co-ordinator is Ivy Manning, herself a Romani Gypsy. “I’ve been in church settings where people have said to me: ‘People can’t be racist to you, you’re white,’” she says. “As soon as I say that I live on a Traveller site, you can see them recoil.”
Churches are still “quite rife” with active discrimination as well as unconscious bias. Funerals are “a massive part of our life”, she says, but some clergy refuse to conduct them, perhaps because the attendance — or just the floral tributes — can be huge. “Sometimes, there’s not really a valid reason. It happens also with baptisms and weddings.”
BECOMING a GRT-friendly church can be a matter of “very small things”, she suggests. “Some of the communities may have very low literacy, or none at all. If they come to a service, don’t just hand them a prayer book and expect them to be able to read it.”
If Gypsies or Travellers move in locally, she says, “reach out to them. Do they need any assistance? Maybe they’ve been served a court order they don’t understand, or maybe they need help accessing health care. Maybe someone needs pastoral care. Be a bridge, be an ally!”
Ideally, she says, there would be a local databases of safe places across the country where Gypsies and Travellers could stop. “Local authorities want to be able to say to churches: ‘We’ve got some families moving through, on their way to a horse fair or a funeral. Would it be OK if they stayed on your land for a few days? We would oversee that.’” That would be “an absolute dream”, she says. “At the moment, everyone just passes the buck.”
The Revd Dr Steven Horne, a former wrestler who was ordained last year, is one of perhaps only two Anglican clergy of Romani descent (Interview, 16 September 2022). “My ministry is more to represent Gypsies and Travellers than to minister to them,” he says. (Two years ago, his book Gypsies and Jesus: A Traveller theology was published by DLT.)
The assistant curate of St Mary’s, Willesborough, in the Ashford Town Team Ministry, in Canterbury diocese, the Revd Dr Steven Horne
He explains that, today, only a very small percentage of travelling communities — mostly Travellers — are still on the road. They are the most vulnerable; but the need that they present is relatively small compared with that of the much larger population who are settled. “We estimate that there are about half a million Gypsies, Roma, and Travellers in Britain,” he says.
Romani Gypsies, whose distant ancestors originated from north-western India, arrived in Britain in the early 16th century. Irish, English, and Scottish Travellers are native to the British Isles, but are recognised as ethnic minorities with their own distinct customs and dialects. The Roma are related to the Romani Gypsies, but those in Britain are much more recent immigrants from Eastern Europe, and regard themselves as a distinct ethnic group.
The Roma are not nomadic, and most Romani Gypsies and Travellers now live in conventional housing, although, in general, they would prefer to live in trailers on a site where at least their immediate families could all be together.
For them, he says, “there are stumbling blocks in pretty much every system we rely on in this country. Among their problems is the highest levels of illiteracy of any minority in the UK. Most people, without realising it, will be suspicious of Gypsies and Travellers, and so they are almost in survival mode the whole time. Every authority that has been placed over them has been against them at some point, or still is against them.”
One Romani Gypsy, in his mid-thirties, who settled a few years ago in order to get an education for his little child, explains: “When your values, your views, and your lifestyle are different to a lot of others, you can be misunderstood. From councils to the NHS to schools, you can’t explain why you’re different. You’re not being difficult when you say you need to register with a doctor for six weeks, but you don’t have proof of address in that area.”
He recommends that any Gypsy or Traveller needing help should seek out one of the chaplains. “They understand your lifestyle. They understand that you might be travelling to work in Cornwall, Glasgow, or Clacton. They can explain situations, and can either signpost you in the right direction, or get the people you need to speak to to contact you.
“It’s hard to ask for help, and, when you do, often the door is closed, and so you go for years without a doctor or some other vital service. With a chaplain, these doors are opened, thanks to their caring nature. There need to be more of these selfless heroes.”
PREBENDARY Fernandes’s advice to anyone who wants to become involved with the travelling communities is that “the cultural nuances are a very steep learning curve, so you need to have sensitivity, and an inquisitive and open mind. I had to challenge myself, over and over, because of ideas I was fed by the media.
“Often, you make a mistake without even realising you are making one — though if you get something wrong, you’ll be told straight away. They are very direct. There are really no niceties, no passive aggression; you’re just told that you messed up.
“At first, it can be intimidating — not because they make you feel unwelcome, but because there is a lot of self-protection within the community, particularly with newcomers.”
Canon Herbert’s prescription is “just to have an open heart and be genuinely concerned. Be honest and straightforward. And be resilient, because you can get attacked by settled people if you’re seen as taking sides with Gypsies, Roma, and Travellers. I’ve been to some vicious public meetings.
“Be patient and persistent, too. It’s good to be in for the long haul, because it takes time to get to know people. Don’t get involved if you just fancy a year of doing something a bit different.”
The benefits of such relationships will not flow only one way. “The time I’ve spent with Gypsies and Travellers has been hugely enriching for me spiritually,” Canon Herbert says. “It has really deepened my faith, to see how people can live in the moment, not worry too far into the future, not be constrained by material goods. The importance of the extended family, the importance of community — these are things I’ve learnt more deeply.
Tim RogersThe Revd Becca Rogers, chaplain to Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities in Chelmsford diocese
“There’s a purity of heart in some of the people I’ve met, and a real depth to faith. I’ve known people who can’t read or write, but know the scriptures in a profound way — in a different way, perhaps, to somebody who has [read and] studied them, because they have reflected on them deeply and pictured themselves in the Gospels. There’s a lot we could learn from them.
“They would bring a new vibrancy to the Church. It would gain people who were very committed, keen to know more about their faith, hungry to deepen their spirituality. It would get people who are hard-working and committed, people with a lot of practical talent, and a lot of wisdom as well.”
The associate priest of the Ascension, Victoria Docks, the Revd Becca Rogers, works one day a week for the Margaret Clitherow Trust, an ecumenical Christian charity founded, in 2015, in partnership with, and for the benefit of, Gypsy, Roma, and Traveller communities. As part of that, she is also chaplain to Gypsy, Roma, and Traveller communities in the diocese of Chelmsford.
She testifies to “a real sense of prayer in them, a sense of God in everyday life. The sense of pilgrimage is huge. If something bad happens in the family, their first response is often to go to a holy site.
“Their communal way of life is just beautiful, with many generations all living together. Think about all the older people in our society who are lonely and alone.
“It’s very easy to assume that the way we live is ‘normal’, because it’s all we’ve known. We buy a house, and then a bigger house, and we accumulate stuff, and it is quite in contradiction to the way Jesus lived and encouraged his followers to live.
“It’s not that we kind, settled people are reaching out to these poor, unfortunate travelling communities. We should think of their culture as being not just an acceptable way to live, but a great way to live.”
For more information on Gypsy, Roma, and Traveller Friendly Churches, visit: sanctuaryplaces.co.uk
Mission to GRT communities
Jackie Bennett lives in the village of Nettlestead Green, in Kent. She has been working with travelling communities for less than a year.
Jackie Bennett, lay evangelist in Rochester diocese
WHEN I was a child, Gypsies and Travellers would come here to help with picking the hops and harvesting the fruit. Their kids came to my primary school. Back then, people were more tolerant, and they were accepted.
I’ve been a commissioned lay evangelist in the diocese of Rochester for more than 20 years, running an old people’s lunch club in our local pub, the Hop Pole, and using it as a “warm space” when fuel became really expensive. One day last year, two Traveller boys, aged about 14, came by and saw some of us playing cards. Eventually, one of them asked, “Can I join you?” and that broke the ice.
I got a grant last summer to provide some activities for kids to do in the pub during the school holidays. We got some equipment for darts and table tennis — there was already a pool table. They’d come in for a couple of hours every day, and it worked really well. They were mainly Traveller children, but not exclusively.
I thought I’d do a bit of research into their culture on the Friends, Families and Travellers website (gypsy-traveller.org). I contacted Gypsy, Roma and Traveller Friendly Churches, and it all went from there. We discussed it properly at a PCC meeting. and it was agreed that we would become a “friendly” church.
GRTFC sent us lots of goodies — bookmarks, badges and pens — and the vicar and I took them round, with some chocolates and a note about what we were aiming to do, to three of the local sites, where maybe a dozen families lived. I had met quite a few of them already in the pub.
My main aim is to walk with them and show them that Jesus loves them, whether it’s by teaching them about him, or by helping them with a problem. I’m trying to make them aware that the church is there for them, and they are welcome to come.
We’re hoping to start some informal services for them in the afternoon. For the children, I’m hoping to have a puppet-show service, with mums and dads invited, with songs and then tea, and some craft things to do.
The most important thing is to build up trust because, historically, these people have been treated badly. You do need to have a broad back. I didn’t have a problem with my church — we’re a small, older congregation and we all remember the hop- and fruit-pickers. But we’ve had an influx of people moving into the village who don’t wish to be part of the community. They put up fences and electric gates, they object that the pub is noisy, and they really don’t like Gypsies and Travellers.
I won’t pretend that this work is easy, but I find it immensely rewarding. In a lot of ways, the travelling community has got very old-fashioned values; their kids behave a lot better than other children. Their friendship, their kindness, their acceptance, once you get over their initial suspicion, have really enriched my life.
Building bridges at Appleby
The Revd Dan Pattimore is based in Kirkby Thore, in Cumbria. Last year, he went to Appleby Horse Fair as one of an outreach team of six
I WAS Vicar of Heanor and Langley Mill, in Derbyshire, for ten years, and it was there that I felt called to work with people for whom the standard ways of doing things don’t really scratch the itch. Myself and my wife, Kristy, who is also ordained, started exploring this with our bishop, who said, “This is a calling from God.”
Eventually, we ended up in this village, five miles outside Appleby, to ply our trade as pioneer ministers.
Appleby’s horse fair, in early June, goes back to the mists of time, and Travellers and Romani Gypsies have been involved in it for hundreds of years. For many Romani Gypsies, Fair Hill, which is just outside Appleby, is their spiritual home. That’s where they feel a sense of belonging.
The Appleby churches’ outreach team at Appleby Horse Fair last year, (from left): the Revd Kristy Pattimore, Nathan Scarborough, and Eve Brett from Carlisle diocese’s Northern Young Leaders Project; the Revd Andrew Sterling of Appleby Methodist Church; and two assistant curates from the Heart of Eden Benefice, in Cumbria, the Revd Dan Pattimore (kneeling) and the Revd Andrew Burrell
The fair is like Marmite: locals either hate it or love it. And, of course, newspapers like the Daily Mail love to stir up trouble.
The travelling communities hold a big Christian service up on the hill on the Sunday morning, with a guy coming over from Ireland to speak, and the Light and Life people have a marquee and have services every night.
There’s a very strong Pentecostal element among them, a strong Catholic element, and a big Anglican element as well. The local churches decided to have a presence up there, too; so, last year, we organised a large gazebo with our own little fire pit, some chairs and tea and coffee, just to be hospitable and to listen to them.
We thought we would be away from the main drag, but actually we were directly opposite the main food concession at the top of the hill. It was absolute gold to be there, because in the evening people who had been trading and meeting all day would come and hitch their horses, and get something to eat, and it was like something from the American Old West.
Because it was chilly — this is the serendipitous working of God — they would come over to sit by our fire and warm their shins and chat with us. Our approach was just to listen, to find out a bit about them and their culture, and offer prayer if they wanted it. And some of them did.
One to one, they opened up, and it was such a privilege to hear their stories. They have the same struggles, the same worries as anyone else; their culture is different, but they just want to make their way through life — and they’re searching for meaning in it all. There were some very deep conversations around that fire.
Two of us decided to sleep up there, because we wanted to experience the whole thing, and I’m so pleased we did, because we got to experience the coming together of all these folk around the food and the fire, and we were welcomed into it. They were incredibly kind and generous.
We’re trying to build bridges between them and the local churches. They know that a lot of people in Appleby don’t like them being there, and they’re stigmatised wherever they go. The essence of what we’re trying to do is to say: “The people of faith here welcome you, because you are loved.”