UK Grime Artist, Stormzy Receives Faith Award For His “Contribution To The public Understanding Of Religion
Written by Heartsong Live on 15th June 2020
The award in question is the 2020 Sandford St Martin Trustees’ Award
Accepting the award, Stormzy who has headlined on Glastonbury’s Pyramid Stage, won three Brits, campaigned for Grenfell residents, stated, “Every award I’ve ever collected, whatever achievement I’ve ever had, I’ve always been vocal about the fact that it’s not possible without God. He’s the reason why I’m here today. He’s the reason that I’m able to have a career… (but) a lot of the time I get non-believers saying “Don’t thank God, this wasn’t God. This was all you” and I know this wasn’t all me. This was God.”
Dedicating the award, The Sandford St Martin Trustees said they decided Stormzy should receive this award not because he believes in God, but because of how this faith has informed his efforts to foster a public conversation and to build a sense of community that has united thousands of fans across cultural, class, generational and religious boundaries.
Chair of the Trust, the Rt Revd Dr Helen-Ann Hartley, Bishop of Ripon said “The openness and clarity about which Stormzy speaks and sings about his faith and the efforts he’s made to translate that into action resonates with people around the world who have heard his music on the radio, seen him perform on television or watched his videos online. ”
“This award celebrates people that have made an outstanding contribution towards understanding how religion impacts on the personal, political and social sides of our lives – for these reasons we’re very pleased to be presenting this year’s award to Stormzy.”
Natasha Elcock, chair of Grenfell United was one of those who paid tribute to Stormzy on the “digital awards show”, broadcast on June 11. In the wake of June 14th and the anniversary of the Grenfell fire, She said “So many times over the past three years you’ve used your platform for us. You’ve spoken out for us. You’ve taken on the powerful with us. You never did this to et any credit or recognition… You didn’t come from North Kensington but you recognised our neighbourhood in yours… and because of that, you will always be part of our community.”
Other award recipients were Neil Gaiman, David Tennant and Michael Sheen, winning the Radio Times Readers Award for “Good Omens”.
The Sandford St Martin Awards are the UK’s most prestigious broadcast awards for radio, TV and online programmes that reflect religious, spiritual or ethical themes. They are the only awards that welcome entries about any and all faiths
The awards are usually presented during a gala ceremony at Lambeth Palace but due to the ongoing lockdown, this year Stormzy received his award during a special online broadcast on June 11th
