‘Speaking truth to power’ is a phrase that resonates with many Christians and is one held dear by Quakers. It involves trying to overturn injustice even when it’s difficult or potentially risky. The child who calls out the school bully probably does so with mixed feelings aware not all peers will be on their side and they could make some serious enemies.

Last month, Andrew Norfolk, the journalist who first exposed the so-called grooming gangs, passed away.

When he broke the story, he faced accusations of racism and heavy criticism from the police, social services, and parts of the press.

Aware of the harm being done to countless children, he continued to speak out. Eventually the tide turned. Those very bodies that made him a pariah applauded him, acknowledging he had been right to speak truth to power.

On June 8, the Western Christian calendar remembered Whitsun or Pentecost. Christian Pentecost marks the coming of the spirit to the apostles and other believers in Jesus Christ. A group of frightened, dispirited believers mourning Jesus’s death were gathered together.

Suddenly they felt the power of the spirit upon them and they found courage. The courage to pick themselves up and go out into the world spreading Jesus’s message of reconciliation, love and equality for all.

They became fearless in speaking out their truth irrespective of where that might lead or to whom they were speaking. For some early Christians that led to a horrible death - being fed to the lions, crucified or stoned.

Yet they continued to speak out. They knew, that for a better world, we have to be prepared to speak truth to power.