Sharon Hunt and the Southwark Curacy: What Happened

Around fourteen people sat down to a meal in a home in Putney, expecting a pleasant evening among friends. By the end of the night, according to her letter, one of them felt attacked, unseen, and unwelcome in the parish she had served. That letter, and the silence she described that night, is why a priest has now stepped away.

The Reverend Sharon Hunt joined the Church of England parish of Putney in southwest London in 2023, The Times reports. She was serving as a curate, and had stepped up to take on extra responsibilities during a vacancy for a lead priest — carrying more than her share while the parish waited for its next leader.

Her letter, seen by The Times, was dated October 25, entitled "laying down my curacy and stepping away from St Mary's church and the Parish of Putney." The Archdeacon of Wandsworth, the Venerable Bridget Shepherd, read it out during a service on 25 October, and it was emailed to the congregation.

The First in Almost 700 Years

In her letter, Hunt wrote a sentence that places her resignation in a history far longer than her own time in Putney — about firsts, and about how long a church can go before a door opens.

It should not go unnoticed that I am the first African-Caribbean heritage priest in the almost 700-year history of this worshipping site.

That phrasing is from Hunt's letter as reported by The Times. Headlines have varied — The Times calls her the first black priest in the church's 700-year history, the Religion Media Centre the first Black curate.

The Seminar Supper on September 24

Hunt said she attended a parish "seminar supper" on September 24 — a monthly meal for around 14 people at a local home, per the church website via The Times. It was meant to be an ordinary evening, the kind where a parish becomes a community rather than just a building.

What happened, in Hunt's words as reported by The Times, was something else entirely:

What was meant to be a pleasant evening amongst friends turned into a personal attack on me and my personhood. I was on the receiving end of racist abuse.

The Times states that Hunt did not explain who had abused her or what exactly was said. This page therefore names no alleged abuser and invents none of the words said.

The Silence in the Room

What Hunt did describe was the response of the others in the room. She wrote that they "witnessed what was taking place and sat in silence" and that "The silence was palpable," according to The Times.

The silence was palpable.

Hunt added that silence "is equally as harmful as the racial words that are spoken" and that she felt "neither seen nor valued as a member of this community." Those two phrases explain why a single evening could end a curacy.

What the Diocese of Southwark Said

Archdeacon Bridget Shepherd responded in a statement quoted by The Times and the Religion Media Centre:

What took place at the Seminar Supper was unacceptable. No one should have to tolerate racism — however it manifests itself.

The Diocese of Southwark also issued a statement on behalf of St Mary's, Putney: "We condemn racism unequivocally. It is abhorrent, unacceptable and has no place in the Church."

The diocese said pastoral support was provided, the matter was referred through the diocesan process, and over the coming months it will review lessons and strengthen anti-racism work with the parish.

No investigation outcome was reported. What is on the record is a resignation, a letter, a statement of condemnation, and a promised review.

What Happens Next

Hunt has stepped away from the parish she joined in 2023. The question is what the parish does with the silence she described. A review over the coming months may answer part of it, but the harder test will be quieter: whether the next priest who is first finds a room that speaks up.

Her story is one of several in which a church has had to wrestle with who belongs and who decides — the same question behind a new church launching in Indiana after a contested firing and a long-serving pastor handing over after 31 years. If you have lived through a season like this, our hope articles and healing articles were written for it.