Pastoral Letter in Response to Racial Injustice
June 18, 2020
Dear friends in Christ,
I write to you on the eve of Juneteenth--the unofficial American holiday to commemorate the day in 1865 when a federal order was read in Galveston, proclaiming all enslaved persons in the state of Texas were now free, nearly two and a half years after President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation declared “all persons held as slaves shall be free.” And yet, here we are today, still struggling to live into the full freedom of black people in our country.
By now, we have all seen the disturbing images of George Floyd being pinned down by Minneapolis police officers, crying out, “I can’t breathe.” This recent tragedy of the killing of yet another black person by a white police officer has revealed the fact that racism is still alive and at work in the systems, institutions, as well as in the hearts and minds of people in our country today. We have also seen the remarkable response as millions of people around the world are standing up in protest and speaking out against racial injustice writ large.
As Christians, you have no doubt wondered how we can help alleviate the clear and unjustifiable suffering of the Black community. Perhaps some of you are wondering if it’s right for the church to take a stand on “political” issues. This is more than a political issue; this is a moral issue. This is more than a black and white issue; this is a right and wrong issue.
As South African cleric and anti-apartheid human rights activist Desmound Tutu reminds us, “My humanity is bound up in yours, for we can only be human together.”
I join with faith leaders of the Presbyterian Church (USA) and in churches across the country and around the world who strongly condemn the police-killing of another black man on the streets of our nation. I stand up witnessing that this is not simply about the murder of innocent people of color like George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor. This is about the myriad ways that minorities all around us are dehumanized, devalued, and denied the basic liberties and opportunities we take for granted. At this potential turning point in our nation’s history, as your Pastor, I lift my voice in declaring that what we have before us is a human rights issue that demands our Christian response.
When it comes to caring for our fellow children of God, our Holy Scriptures do not just encourage us to get involved: they command it. “He has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” (Micah 6:8). Kindness and humility come pretty easy for us. We are a church with heart. But, doing justice is harder for us, as a mostly white congregation. But, we, the Community Presbyterian Church of Ben Avon, are a Matthew 25 church. We have answered Jesus’ call in Matthew 25 to feed the hungry, welcome the stranger, and visit the sick; and by loving the least of these, we are showing our love for Christ. But there is more to do in living out the call of being a Matthew 25 church, specifically working toward dismantling structural racism.
The Presbyterian Church has a part to play. Community Presbyterian Church of Ben Avon has a part to play. We all have a part to play. I am proud to report to you that on Tuesday night, our church Session prayerfully and courageously took action in adopting these three goals:
Commit to becoming an antiracist church in keeping with the teachings of Christ
Partner with a predominantly black church to build trusting relationships, increase understanding, and share experiences
Engage the community in antiracist work
These are not just words. They are mandates to guide our actions. And we are already taking action. Tonight we are holding a prayer vigil for justice on our church front lawn at 7:00 PM, so that we can give public witness to our faith--that when Jesus said “love your neighbor” he meant everyone. We are inviting the community to come together and pray for changed hearts and minds to work together for justice for all of God’s people. No exceptions.
We have a group of concerned church and community members who have been meeting to discern how we can take meaningful action. If you would like to be a part of this group, contact me or Kristin Dillon. This is a big issue that will take our collective commitment and time. We should not pretend that we can fix the problem immediately on our own. But we can start by being part of the solution. Here are three things you can do, starting today:
Use your head: Read a book or listen to a podcast to learn about racism and white privilege we might not be aware of. Read the letter from Ralph Lowe, Director of Justice Ministries for Pittsburgh Presbytery: “Dear White Siblings in Christ…” Listen to conversations between Ralph Lowe and Brian Wallace: Introduction. Episode 1: Let’s Talk. Episode 2: Defining Racist and Racism.
Use your hands: Support black-owned business and donate money to fund racial justice and register to vote.
Use your heart: Take the 21-day racial justice challenge, to change your heart, one day at a time. As we discern God’s leading, I invite you to unite our hearts in prayer….
Pray for the Floyd family and all the black families who have lost loved ones to racial violence
Pray for police departments and police officers for reform and repentance
Pray for the peaceful protestors
Pray that those who have the power to make the right decisions may have the courage to do so
Pray for our nation to do the hard work of building a more equitable and just society
Trusting that there is power in prayer, I invite you to pray with me, as I pray without ceasing,
God, for what we have done--knowingly or unknowingly to support racism, we are truly sorry. Help us to use our heads to be well informed and guide us toward intentional, meaningful action. Help us to use our hands to reach out and make a difference for good. Help us to use our hearts to reflect the truth that black lives matter to you, and so they should matter to us. Empower us to use all that we have and all that we are to do justice, love kindness and walk humbly with you. Amen and Amen.
Faithfully yours,
Pastor Donna
