A good crowd came out for Vassa Day this year.

The service, entwined with St Andrew’s Family Service, remembered Anna Maria Vassa and her family. Anna Maria, the daughter of Olaudah Equiano (1745-1797) a celebrated author and campaigner against the transatlantic slave trade in 18th -century England, died young and was buried in St Andrew’s Churchyard.

Each year, the congregation of St Andrew’s and members of the surrounding community gather to reflect on the legacy left by Equiano – including that of his daughters, the above mentioned Anna Maria and her sister Joanna. This year, after a sermon reflecting on the potential for a new stained glass window, the story of the Equiano family, and a reminder that Christ puts to death dividing walls and hostilities in his own death, the congregation went outside to the Anna Maria Vassa memorial.

Children of the parish brought a wreath to place at the memorial. We listened to Dr Carol Brown-Leonardi (Open University), an Equiano scholar, read the memorial plaque and lead our prayers. After this, we shared the peace beneath the memorial, a powerful reminder of what we had just heard and reflected on, before enjoying refreshments in the sun, mingling together, our differences and similarities coming together to form a greater peaceful image.

If you are interested in reading more about Olaudah Equiano or finding out more about the Equiano Family Project (including the stained glass window), visit these pages: Olaudah Equiano and The Equiano Family Project.