Thank you everyone who's engaged with the debate today on @churchofengland monuments. I don't agree with all the views expressed (and many of you don't agree with me) but it's been invigorating to begin airing views and exchanging ideas. A few thoughts from me:

First, if you feel threatened or offended by the fact this debate is happening at all maybe look more closely into the history of racism and race relations in Britain. Try @DavidOlusoga's Black and British or Redi Eddo-Lodge's Why I'm No Longer Talking to White People About Race.

To say that debates about statues or monuments are distracting from dealing with contemporary racism or politically correct pandering is to ignore how much representation means, and the impact of how we teach and view history on people's lives today. History matters.

The history of art and artisans also matters. Memorials are not just about the person they are for, they show the development of art, sculpture and visual culture. They tell us about society, goods and bad. That is important and valuable. We don't want to lose that.

There's also the impact of the 'negative spaces' created by missing Black and other histories both in narrative and physically in our churches. How can we address and fill those gaps? This should be part of how we approach the issue of contested memorials.

Church monuments and gravemarkers are distinct from public statues. They are put up for different reasons, subject to different laws, and serve different purposes. This debate is about recognising that and creating appropriate responses to our contexts.

I love our churches and cathedrals. I love their work with community, their history, their monuments, their reflection of society through time, their local links, their craftsmanship and even their clutter. None of this is in question.

There are lots of options for taking action that don't include changing memorials but instead rely on better inclusion of all perspectives in interpretation and historical storytelling. In this the Church can learn from places that already do this well or are trying to.

Due legal process and consultation is essential in these discussions. While some (usually temporary) measures have been put in place quickly in specific places, big decisions are not being made in a knee-jerk way or behind closed doors. Don't believe the conspiracy theories!

From a @CofE_Churchcare perspective the Church Buildings Council and Cathedrals Fabric Commission are discussing all these issues. The views of DACs and FACs will be sought. I very much doubt all involved will agree (with me or each other) but I'll ensure debate happens.

The (mostly volunteer) groups who look after our parishes are brilliant. Some are already engaged with this issue but some are not and want to be. We must look at how we can support them.

I'm very aware that parishes do not have generally have spare cash knocking around for building and collections projects and that clergy and churchwardens are dealing with a lot right now around reopening after lockdown.

As we go forward some decisions made on this issue will leave some people unhappy. Deal with it. Maybe this isn't all about you. Or me. I'm learning, and continually refining my views as I learn. I hope we all can.

There may well be mistakes along the way. I'm sure I'll say things that don't reflect what I wanted them to, or which express a view I later come to regret. That's part of learning. I hope I'll be helped by others. I hope we can be kind to each other.

And finally: this is the first time many have engaged with this topic but it *isn't new*. People have been studying issues of racial justice and representation through history FOR YEARS. We've not heard from many of them today so need to find ways to bring in that expertise.

Black Lives Matter isn't a woke bandwagon. It's a call to action for those like me who could previously choose not to engage.

There may be many church monuments that change as a result of this, there may be only a few. The important thing is that churches tell the whole story.

That's it for today.