BLACK HISTORY MONTH: Bajan pioneer in Church of England

THE MOST REV. WILFRED WOOD – Britain’s first black bishop, has lost his sight to diabetes, but not his faith.

By Sandra Sealey | Mon, February 13, 2012 - 12:00 AM

WILFRED DENNISTON WOOD, KA (born June 15, 1936) was Bishop of Croydon from 1985 to 2003, the first black bishop in the Church of England.

Born in Barbados to Wilfred Coward and Elsie Elmira Wood, in Proute, St Thomas, Wood [later Sir Wilfred] attended Southborough Boys’ Primary School and Combermere School.

He was ordained a deacon in the Anglican Church here before migrating to London in 1962 where he served as a curate, then honorary curate, of St Thomas With St Stephen, Shepherd’s Bush, until 1974.

He soon came to wider attention in Britain for speaking out on racial injustice. In 1974 he joined the Diocese of Southwark, where he stayed until his retirement.

In 1977 he was appointed Rural Dean of East Lewisham and Honorary Canon of Southwark Cathedral. He was Archdeacon of Southwark from 1982 until his consecration as Bishop of Croydon in 1985, where he oversaw the Croydon Episcopal Area and assisted the Bishop of Southwark.

Wood was a champion for racial justice, launching several initiatives and serving on many committees.

In 1968, Wood and colleagues submitted proposals for the replacement of the National Committee for Commonwealth Immigrants (NCCI) with a Community Relations Commission that came to be known as The Wood Proposals. The proposals called for some members to be directly elected by minority ethnic associations.

In 1992 he co-sponsored with David Sheppard, the then Bishop of Liverpool, a new set of race equality principles for employers which became known as the Wood-Sheppard Principles.

He was moderator of the Southwark Diocesan Race Relations Commission from its foundation. He also served as moderator of the World Council of Churches’ Programme to Combat Racism, known for its work on South African apartheid.

In his last years as Bishop of Croydon, he protested at the honours given to Enoch Powell upon his death, and about the government and opposition’s attitudes to asylum seekers.

Wood was also involved in Croydon life outside of the church, serving as a board member for the local Mayday Hospital for more than ten years; president of the Royal Philanthropic Society and also chair of the Tramlink Penalty Fares Appeals Panel.

He also served on the Board of Britain’s Housing Corporation from 1986 to 1995 and was a founder-member of a number of housing associations. He served as chairman and later president of the Institute of Race Relations.

Bishop Wood was made an Honorary Freeman of the London Borough of Croydon in 2002.

He holds honorary doctorates from the Open University, the University of the West Indies and the General Theological Seminary, New York, when he was described in the citation as “a wide and trusted defender of the rights of minorities”.

On November 30, 2000, for Barbados’ 34th anniversary of Independence, Wood was made a Knight of St Andrew “for his contribution to race relations in the United Kingdom and general contribution to the welfare of Barbadians living there”.

During those 40 years, Sir Wilfred moved through the Church of England ranks as curate, chaplain, vicar, rural dean, canon, archdeacon, and bishop. His work did not go unnoticed by the British authorities.

Today in Plaistow, East London, there is the Bishop Wilfred Wood Court. For posterity, one street, one close and two housing projects bear the name Bishop Wilfred Wood.

Sir Wilfred Wood retired as Bishop of Croydon September 30, 2002 and was succeeded in 2003 by Nick Baines. He returned to Barbados that same year. In 2004, he was voted by the public as second only to Mary Seacole on a list of the 100 Great Black Britons.

Sir Wilfred has since lost his sight to diabetes, but he has not lost his fervour for Christian witness and mission.