Eve Pitts (née Sewell) is a British priest who was the first black woman to be ordained as a

vicar A vicar (; Latin: '' vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English p ...

in the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

. She is known for being outspoken against discrimination. She is a supporter of

Emancipation Day Emancipation Day is observed in many former European colonies in the West Indies and parts of the United States on various dates to commemorate the emancipation of African slave trade#Abolition, slaves of African descent. In much of the British ...

Personal life and education

Pitts was born in Jamaica and her parents, Kathleen and Stanley Sewell, moved to England in 1956. Her father worked in a chemical plant in Nottingham and died aged 35. Pitts initially attended a boarding school but came to England after her father died. She was a committed Christian from childhood, and taught in Sunday School when she was seven. She worked in the civil service for many years before responding to a call to ministry. She married Anthony Pitts, a civil servant, and they have a daughter and two sons. She trained at the Queen's Foundation in 1988.

Ministry

Pitts was ordained as a deacon in 1989. In 1994, Pitts was one of the first black women ordained priest in the Church of England, and went on to be the first black woman to become a vicar. She spent three years at her first church in

Bartley Green Bartley Green is a residential suburban area and electoral ward in Birmingham, England, south west of the city centre. The ward is part of the Birmingham Edgbaston constituency and is represented in parliament by Labour Co-operative MP Preet G ...

, Birmingham. She then moved to Saint Nicolas' church in

Kings Norton Kings Norton, alternatively King's Norton, is an area of Birmingham, in the county of the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. Historic counties of England, Historically in Worcestershire, it was also a Birmingham City Council war ...

, Birmingham. In 1997, after she had experienced being marginalised through sexist and racist attitudes for some time, she spoke about this during a service. This led to controversy and the

Bishop of Birmingham The Bishop of Birmingham heads the Church of England Diocese of Birmingham, in the Province of Canterbury, in England. The diocese covers the North West of the historical county of Warwickshire and has its see in the City of Birmingham, Wes ...

asked her to resign. The Association of Black Clergy supported her. As a consequence, Pitts began ministry in a community hall and was then offered a new parish at Immanuel church in Highter's Heath in mid-1998. Relationships became better in this new church and she stayed there for more than a decade. Among other things, Pitts and the congregation raised substantial amounts of money needed for repairs to the church building. In 2010 she moved to Holy Trinity church in the inner city parish of Birchfield, in the

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

diocese. This church building also needed repairs and was able to obtain funding from the

National Lottery Heritage Fund The National Lottery Heritage Fund, formerly the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), distributes a share of National Lottery funding, supporting a wide range of heritage projects across the United Kingdom. History The fund's predecessor bodies were ...

. She considers that history should be remembered and commemorated, including the transatlantic slave trade. Otherwise: Since 2015 she has held a series of commemorative services for remembrance of ancestors on the third Sunday in September. This follows from her study and prayer around racism and the legacy of slavery, including within the Church of England. Pitts is noted for being a "fierce critic" of the Church of England. She is also promoting recognition within the Church of England of 1 August as

, since it was the day that the

Slavery Abolition Act 1833 The Slavery Abolition Act 1833 ( 3 & 4 Will. 4. c. 73) was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which abolished slavery in the British Empire by way of compensated emancipation. The act was legislated by Whig Prime Minister Charl ...

, the law which abolished slavery in Britain's overseas possessions, came into force in 1834.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pitts, Eve Living people Year of birth missing (living people) 20th-century Church of England clergy 21st-century Church of England clergy Women Anglican clergy Alumni of the Queen's Foundation Jamaican clergy