An Invitation to Become The Beloved Community: An Ecumenical Conversation about Racism

Friends, 2020 has been a challenging year. The human family is experiencing new challenges while revisiting old wounds. At Lincoln’s first Juneteenth Celebration, the Rev. Glenn Shelton spoke of two pandemics our country is currently fighting: the one known as COVID-19 has been going on for four months; the other has been going on for 401 years—racism. As a people of faith, we have a responsibility to work toward ending both.

            During the last four months, the session and I have taken a proactive approach in doing our part to help flatten the curve of the coronavirus. It hasn’t been easy. Each week brought new challenges, and if 2020 has taught us anything, the future will likely have them, too. Now that Illinois has entered phase 4, we can enter into our sanctuary again with limited numbers and restrictions regarding worship. Throughout this season, the session has leaned into Christ’s great commandment to love one another as Christ loves us. We know not everyone shares the same experiences with the virus, but as Christians, we all understand the task to which Christ calls us is to love each other, especially the most vulnerable. As we move further into (and prayerfully beyond) the pandemic, we will continue to maintain this approach.

            As Presbyterians, we recognize that despite our love of God, we still find ways to sin or sperate ourselves from God, each other, or own self. God loves us enough to call us to confess whatever gets in the way of having a good relationship with the Holy One of Perfect Love. When someone wrongs us, we have the responsibility of bringing it to their attention so that the relationship that has been harmed can be restored and healed. If we fail to say anything and just ignore them instead, we are not exhibiting love. A call to confession is a call to further love, which God does with a reassurance of divine good intentions toward us so that we're not afraid to confess our shortcomings in the light of God's love.

            We also understand that sin is not only individual, but it is also social. Even though we don’t want or mean to, we have a share in collective sin when we belong to certain groups who sin against others. Sin is complex and inescapable. This is why Presbyterians have a confession of sin in almost every worship service, and the greatest sin may be the unwillingness to admit that we are sinful. One sin that continues to plague Christians in the United States is racism. The PCUSA defines racism as the systemic and structural ways that our society is still white-centered, white-dominant, and white-identified. It is an ongoing structure of society that gives advantage to whites at the expense of people of other racial groups. We know that all of humanity is created in the image and likeness of God, and yet, not everyone is treated as beloved children of God. Racism is the exact opposite of what God wants for God’s people. It is the rejection of the other, which is entirely contrary to the Word of God incarnate in Jesus Christ. Racism is a lie about our fellow siblings, for it says that some are less human than others.

            What can we do about the sin of racism? One of the young people who spoke at a recent rally invited white people to educate ourselves about this pandemic. Listening to the stories of some of those speakers and other siblings of color has compelled our Session to be intentional about better understanding racism and how we can eradicate it from the different systems in which we exist. We have decided to read, study, and discuss the book White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism by Dr. Robin Diangelo. We will not be studying this book alone. I will be leading the discussions with the Rev. Laurie Hill, pastor of the St. John UCC. Together, our churches are making a bold statement by declaring that racism is a sin in which we no longer want to participate.

            Laurie and I will offer two discussions every Wednesday for 8 weeks. The schedule is as follows:

·      July 1—1:30 pm @ St. John UCC & 7:00 pm on Zoom—Intro to the book and welcome from Laurie and Adam

·      July 8—1:30 pm @ First Presbyterian Church of Lincoln [Adam leading discussion] & 7:00 pm on Zoom we will discuss chapters 1 & 2

·      July 15—1:30pm @ St. John UCC [Laurie leading] & 7:00 pm on Zoom we will discuss chapters 3 & 4

·      July 22—1:30 pm @ St. John UCC [Laurie leading] & 7:00 pm on Zoom [Adam leading] we will discuss chapters 5-6

·      July 29—1:30 pm @ St. John UCC [Laurie leading] & 7:00 pm on Zoom [Adam leading] we will discuss chapter 7 & 8

·      August 5—1:30 pm @ St. John UCC [Laurie leading] & 7:00 pm on Zoom [Adam leading] we will discuss chapters 9 & 10

·      August 12—1:30 pm @ St. John UCC [Laurie leading] & 7:00 pm on Zoom [Adam leading] we will discuss chapters 11 & 12

·      August 19—1:30 pm @ St. John UCC & 7:00 pm on Zoom Laurie and Adam will conclude our education on racism

The books can be purchased from the office for $10. I encourage you if it is a practice you are familiar with, to purchase your own on an e-reader device. You can purchase the book on Amazon here. 

            We are doing a bold thing. We are not doing this only as members of the Lincoln First Presbyterian or as the St. John UCC. We are not doing this bold thing as only as Christians of Logan County. We are not doing this bold thing merely as siblings to people of color. We are doing this bold thing as human beings, created by the love of God, who has called us to live in this time and in this era for a particular and real purpose. As we strive to resist the pandemics around us—not only coronavirus and racism—remember Christ’s calls us to combat the pandemics of apathy, indifference, isolation, intolerance, and oppression. These are surely the real work God is calling us to confront, and by God’s grace and with your help, we shall be an example of a community willing to engage with the hard work.