racist reasons will be commemorated at an awards ceremony next week, the Evangelical Alliance United Kingdom (EAUK) said Wednesday, November 2.
The EAUK, a platform of over one million evangelical Christians in the UK, told BosNewsLife that the "National Champions of Respect awards" will be "dedicated in memory of murdered Liverpool teenager Anthony Walker."
Anthony was very active within the Liverpool Grace Family Church before he was killed in an axe attack by a gang at a park in the Huyton area of Liverpool, police said. He was 18 when he died.
"POSITIVE CONTRIBUTION"
Anthony’s mother, Gee Walker, will present the Champions of Respect awards together with the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, during a ceremony on November 10 to "young people making a positive contribution to their communities," the EAUK said.
She was to say a few words about her son, who she described as her "very own champion" of respect. "Anthony was a special boy and was very popular. I am sure he would have been nominated for these awards had he lived," Gee Walker said in remarks obtained by BosNewsLife.
Anthony did not live long enough to participate in the Christian youth initiative, Merseyfest, this summer, in which he wanted to use his basketball skills to engage with young people in underprivileged areas of the city, the EAUK said.
TEMPLE ADDRESS
The awards ceremony is part of the EAUK’s fifth annual Temple Address, an event which seeks to give a Christian perspective on an actual issue facing society. Archbishop Williams will give this year’s keynote speech on the theme ‘respect and young people’, the organization said.
"The Champions of Respect Awards and the Temple Address kick off the respect campaign," said EAUK General Director Rev. Joel Edwards. "Respect has become a topical issue in recent months. Our challenge to [the] government is to continue to invest in and support projects such as those featured in the Champions of Respect awards and to seek a more holistic approach to the issue of respect," he added.
The awards and campaign come at a time of a debate on hatred and how far legislation banning incitement should go, following recent bomb attacks in London. On Tuesday, November 1, British Queen Queen Elizabeth II and Prime Minister Tony Blair were among thousands gathered at a national memorial service in St Paul’s Cathedral in London for
the 52 victims of the July 7 bomb attacks in the capital. (With BosNewsLife Research, BosNewsLife News Center, Stefan J. Bos and reports from London).
