Sacred Conversation about Race

You may have heard about the UCC churches having a sacred conversation about race on Sunday May 18th. At Christ Church Chuck will start the process by preaching about it. We will have the whole summer to do some reading and thinking and maybe private conversations before we have our "Sacred Conversation" in early September.

The following is a quote from the UCC web:
"The UCC is holding this national dialogue in order to foster a spirit of healing and unity in our churches and communities. While much has been said during the past few weeks about the Rev. Jeremiah A Wright Jr., this dialogue among our members is intended to be a larger conversation, one not focused directly or exclusively on the recent controversy, but one certainly influenced by it.
Sacred conversations are never easy, especially when honest talk confronts our nation's painful past and speaks directly to the injustices of the present day. Yet sacred conversations can, and often do, honor the value of diverse life experiences, requiring an openness to hear each others' viewpoints. Growth often happens when honest conversations are communicated in a respectful environment."

Over the summer you will hear a lot about race as the media and politicians play the race card because of the first possible African American nominee for President. This would be similar to the gender card if the first woman is the nominee. But the difference between playing the race card and the gender card is that the race card hurts. There is a history of people who have been killed only because of the color of their skin. In this country I don't believe we physically abuse women.

The UCC website http://www.ucc.org/sacred-conversation/ has a number of resources that can be used as you prepare for our conversation about race in the fall. Also as a member of the UCC Anti racism task force I have put a lot of material that can be used on the Christ Church website.

First I believe everyone should read the pastoral letter which is posted on the website. Then go through the steps.

The Pilgrim press has listed some books that can be a part of your summer reading. I will bring the books that I have to display tomorrow. I don't know if we have them in the library.

I would also recommend viewing "Eyes on the Prize I & II" to see the history of the civil rights movement. Most libraries have a copy.

For those of you who would like to start an online dialog you may post comments and information on this blog.

My colleagues on the Anti racism task force want to focus on African American racism, although this might be too broad I think racism of any kind against any people is not to be tolerated.

Here is a segment from the Pastoral Letter of 2008:

"As members of the United Church of Christ, we have a rich history of spirited resistance
to racism that can serve as both a resource and an inspiration for this sacred work. One such
resource is the Pastoral Letter on Racism and
the Role of the Church published in 1991 by the Commission for Racial Justice. The biblical,
theological, and political analysis of this ground-breaking document remains relevant for our day. The Pastoral Letter on Racism boldly names the “sin and idolatry of racism” and calls Christians to renew their commitment to be a people grounded in the love and justice embodied in Jesus Christ and the beloved community that King envisioned.
The Pastoral Letter on Racism documented what it called “a sobering truth” – namely, that despite the meaningful progress achieved during the civil rights era, “quality of life for the majority of racial and ethnic people is worse today in many ways than it was during the 1960s.” The letter went on to name a number of disturbing trends that signaled growing racial intolerance and hostility: increasing inequities between the rich and the poor; charges of “reverse racism”and attacks on affirmative action; a resurgence of racially motivated hate crimes and; fear of “foreigners” surfacing in movements such as “English Only.”
Seventeen years later, in 2008, we might wish to believe that we have made significant progress in addressing and reversing those alarming trends. Lamentably, that claim cannot be substantiated."
It goes on but I think that sums up the reasons for this conversation.
Jeannette Brown