The Church of England is being urged to make land available for Gypsies and travelling communities who face institutional racism and ostracisation.
It may also appoint chaplains to provide pastoral care to Gypsies and Travellers, and to encourage them to become part of the church.
The governing body of the C of E, the synod will vote on a motion this weekend calling on bishops and other senior church figures to “speak out publicly against racism and hate crime directed against Gypsies, Irish Travellers and Roma, and urge the media to stop denigrating and victimising these communities”.
Local and national church bodies must “play their part in lobbying for and enabling land to be made available” for sites for Gypsies and Travellers, says the motion proposed by Stephen Cottrell, bishop of Chelmsford.
In an unusual move, people from travelling communities will address synod directly at the start of the debate.
A report circulated to synod members says churches have been part of institutional racism against travelling communities. “There is much anecdotal evidence of people being refused baptism, weddings and funerals, and such things as churches cutting off the outside tap for the graveyard rather than have Travellers use their water supply,” it says.
Among examples cited is an Anglican priest in Wiltshire who refused to officiate or allow his church to be used for a Romany Traveller funeral. The vicar claimed the family did not attend nor have any association with the church despite the fact that several generations had been buried in the graveyard.
In another case, a Somerset vicar declined to officiate at a large Romany funeral, instead delegating the service to a lay minister. A neighbouring church was locked for fear of being “ransacked”.
Members of an Anglican congregation in Dorset vociferously opposed a planning application for a local Romany Gypsy family to live on a plot of land they had bought. The church members expressed fears that the village would be overrun with Gypsies and people would feel their property was at risk.
The report describes Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities as “highly marginalised” and “subject to casual racism on a daily basis and high levels of institutional racism”.
It says: “Extreme levels of hostility are the norm today, fuelled by irresponsible media coverage, of the kind that would be met by outrage if targeted at any other group. People have described prejudice against Gypsies, Irish Travellers and Roma as ‘the last acceptable racism’ or ‘the last apartheid’.”
The debate was intended to “raise awareness of these these issues and to help the church do more to work alongside traveller people and understand their culture and their needs and be better at receiving the gifts they offer,” said Cottrell.
“In particular the debate will draw attention to the need for sites where Gypsy, Roma and Traveller people can stay and see what part the church can play in making this provision. It is estimated that one square mile of land would meet the entire need of Travellers requiring authorised places to stay. Yet in recent years the number of sites available has reduced. And what is worse, people don’t seem to care.”
The Christian imperative was to combat racism in all its forms, he said. “Therefore it is incumbent upon the church to take a lead on this issue, providing a voice for those who are so marginalised and discriminated against.”
According to the report, people in travelling communities have lower life expectancy than the general population and infant mortality is three times higher; they have high rates of poor mental health and low rates of literacy.
Citing 2014 HM Inspectorate of Prisons figures, the report says 5% of the prison population is from the Irish Traveller and Romany Gypsy communities despite the fact that they make up on 0.5% of the UK population. “More staggering still” are figures showing 11% of those detained in secure training centres for children and young people, and 8% of those in young offenders’ institutes, are from these communities.
The report says the church has “much to learn from the Gypsy/Roma/Traveller communities who choose to live simply, have a love of the earth, their extended families and a tradition of welcome to the stranger”.
Members of the synod are due to vote on the motion on Saturday.