Greetings, Friends!
I’m a bit grumpy this morning. All the political rhetoric has gotten me down. I fear we have lost the ability to listen respectfully to one another as a nation and that pains me. And, it’s Lent! How am I supposed to quiet myself and reflect on my participation in God’s mission with everyone making so much noise? Oh, wait; maybe that’s the point. Right now in my life, I’m not called to a hermitage; I’m called to act – and that means engaging with the world. So, I’d better get up, dust myself off, put on a smile, and get to work!
I have been especially saddened by the voices speaking out against anyone considered “the other” – whether that is meant to include other nationalities, other races, other expressions of faith, or other sexual identities. As followers of Jesus, we are on shaky ground when we lose touch with the oppressed, the strangers and the marginalized in our midst. I was greatly heartened by the letter sent out from the House of Bishops this week because it serves as a reminder of how we live into the call to love our neighbors:
A Word to the Church
Holy Week 2016
“We reject the idolatrous notion that we can ensure the safety of some by sacrificing the hopes of others.”
On Good Friday the ruling political forces of the day tortured and executed an innocent man. They sacrificed the weak and the blameless to protect their own status and power. On the third day Jesus was raised from the dead, revealing not only their injustice but also unmasking the lie that might makes right.
In a country still living under the shadow of the lynching tree, we are troubled by the violent forces being released by this season’s political rhetoric. Americans are turning against their neighbors, particularly those on the margins of society. They seek to secure their own safety and security at the expense of others. There is legitimate reason to fear where this rhetoric and the actions arising from it might take us.
In this moment, we resemble God’s children wandering in the wilderness. We, like they, are struggling to find our way. They turned from following God and worshiped a golden calf constructed from their own wealth. The current rhetoric is leading us to construct a modern false idol out of power and privilege. We reject the idolatrous notion that we can ensure the safety of some by sacrificing the hopes of others. No matter where we fall on the political spectrum, we must respect the dignity of every human being and we must seek the common good above all else.
We call for prayer for our country that a spirit of reconciliation will prevail and we will not betray our true selves.
This is, indeed, a time for prayer – and it is a time to speak gently and act boldly in the ways we can to foster reconciliation. Many of the resolutions we present try to give “hands and feet and voice” to our desire and call to be people of reconciliation. Recently, Executive Council of The Episcopal Church met. One of the items on their agenda was Resolution C019 passed at last summer’s General Convention which specifically directs the leadership of our Church “to lead, direct, and be present to assure and account for the Church’s work of racial justice and reconciliation.” Despite the efforts of the past to provide anti-racism training and programs geared toward racial reconciliation as well as some 30 previous convention resolutions from as far back as 1952, we still have far to go.
C019 Establish Response to Systemic Racial Injustice
Resolved, the House of Bishops concurring, that the 78th General Convention of The Episcopal Church confesses that, despite repeated efforts at anti-racism training as well as racial justice and racial reconciliation initiatives including the passage of more than 30 General Convention resolutions dating back to 1952, the abomination and sin of racism continue to plague our society and our Church at great cost to human life and human dignity; we formally acknowledge our historic and contemporary participation in this evil and repent of it; and be it further
Resolved, That in the wake of the brutal, overtly racist murders of nine of our Christian brothers and sisters of Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church on June 17, 2015; numerous inexcusable deaths of unarmed black men and youth at the hands of law enforcement personnel; and the moral atrocity of mass incarceration in which a hugely disproportionate number of persons of color have been unfairly caught in the net of an unjust criminal justice system, the 78th General Convention affirms as a top priority of The Episcopal Church in the upcoming triennium the challenging and difficult work of racial reconciliation through prayer, teaching, engagement, and action; and be it further
Resolved, That the Church understands and affirms that the call to pray and act for racial reconciliation is integral to our witness to the gospel of Jesus Christ and to our living into the demands of our Baptismal Covenant; and be it further
Resolved, That the Presiding Bishop, President of the House of Deputies, Vice President of the House of Bishops, and Vice President of the House of Deputies be charged to lead, direct, and be present to assure and account for the Church’s work of racial justice and reconciliation; and be it further
Resolved, That the General Convention request that the Joint Standing Committee on Program, Budget and Finance consider a budget allocation of $1.2 million for the Triennium for the implementation of this resolution.
Assigning this task to the leadership of the Church is a bold but important move commented Anita George, chair of Executive Council’s Joint Standing Committee on Advocacy and Networking according to an Episcopal New Service (ENS) report. George believes that “when the leaders speak, the Church listens.”
Presiding Bishop Michael Curry and House of Deputies President the Rev. Gay Clark Jennings met with other church leaders in early February to discuss how they might begin this process. According to ENS:
Most importantly, Curry told the Executive Council, rather than plot out a course of action on the assumption that the group knew where to go, the participants listened to each other. “We told dimensions of our own racial stories,” going back to childhood in some cases, he said. “There was some pretty powerful sharing,” he added, “and it was out of that that we began to think: How can we help the church to engage on a deeper level?”
At their meeting, the leaders drafted a letter to the Church:
Dear Bishops and Deputies,
At General Convention this summer, our church made the strongest commitment in a generation to racial justice and reconciliation. As the leaders of the House of Bishops and House of Deputies, we were tasked by Resolution C019 to lead in this holy work, and thus to enable every diocese, ministry, and baptized person in our church to live and bear witness to the teaching of Jesus to love God and love our neighbors as ourselves (Matthew 22:37-40), by respecting the dignity of every human being, and working to transform the unjust structures of society.
To honor that call, we gathered on February 3 and 4 in Austin, Texas, to share our own gifts and stories, to learn some of the church’s historic and current activities, and to begin to discern a way forward. Rather than proceed with quick fixes or instant program, we adopted two essential practices: deep listening to stories and patient commitment to mutual transformation over the long haul.
Today, we write to welcome sisters and brothers in both Houses and ultimately all Episcopalians to join us in this ministry. The pain of racial injustice and division has wracked our church and the many communities where we both proclaim and embody the gospel of Jesus Christ. Our collective prayer and action can begin to heal what is broken and nurture the Beloved Community that is God’s dream for all.
At this stage, we look forward to convening one or more church-wide gatherings where many voices can share about racial justice and reconciliation, including the myriad racial, ethnic and cultural realities that play out across Latin America, Europe, Asia and deep into indigenous communities on this continent. We have also asked the Presiding Bishop’s staff to research options for the following:
- A gathering for listening with Anglican partners in the Global South, with particular attention to colonial and neocolonial patterns of relationship
- Vehicles for sharing stories, developing relationships, and listening to the Other
Age-appropriate formation and education opportunities for dismantling racism - A summary of the church’s current ministries and gifts for racial justice and reconciliation
- A census or audit to gain a clearer understanding of the church’s demographic make-up and its historic and current participation in systems of racial injustice
Please join us in spending the remainder of this holy season of Lent in prayer, asking God to prepare our hearts to share and to receive the stories and truths that challenge each of us most. Join us in looking to transformation well beyond a single triennium or even the nine years of a primate’s term, beyond the United States alone, beyond new statements and policies. We share the longing of our Lord Jesus Christ for metanoia — to turn, to be reborn as a Church engaged in behaviors, commitments and relationships that reflect the love of the One who called us to be one.
In the deep love of Christ,
Presiding Bishop Michael Curry
President of the House of Deputies Gay Clark Jennings
House of Bishops Vice President Mary Gray-Reeves
House of Deputies Vice President Byron Rushing
House of Bishops Vice President Dean Wolfe
House of Deputies Secretary Michael Barlowe
Those present acknowledge that all this will take time. You can find the entire ENS article here – http://episcopaldigitalnetwork.com/ens/2016/03/11/making-reconciliation-and-evangelism-the-churchs-new-normal/
In the meantime, our Household is addressing reconciliation through our gatherings this year. Plan on joining us for our conversations at Ministry Fair on May 7. Every workshop presented will have some connection to our theme: “the Waters of Reconciliation.” If you haven’t purchased the book for the EDOMI Book Club, now is the time. We’ll be discussing The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in an Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander at the Nuts and Bolts workshop.
Let us pray –
To the Creator of all peoples, who loves each of us for our uniqueness, we offer our prayers of petition:
For an end to discrimination in all its forms, we pray,
Lord of all, hear our prayer.That each person may be respected and valued as a child of God, we pray,
Lord of all, hear our prayer.That the Church may be a witness and a universal sign of unity among all peoples, we pray,
Lord of all, hear our prayer.That each of us may acknowledge our part in mistakes and sins of the past pertaining to discrimination and racism, we pray,
Lord of all, hear our prayer.For a spirit of forgiveness and reconciliation among peoples who share a history of mutual mistrust, hatred, or aggression, we pray,
Lord of all, hear our prayer.That the victims of racial prejudice may forgive those who persecute them, and that their persecutors may have a change of heart, we pray,
Lord of all, hear our prayer.That the Church will continue to strive to make every element of human life correspond to the true dignity of the human person, we pray,
Lord of all, hear our prayer.For those who have struggled for civil rights, economic justice and the elimination of discrimination based on race, religion, sexual identity or ableness, we pray,
Lord of all, hear our prayer.That we may work to influence the attitudes of others by expressly rejecting racial stereotypes, slurs, and be affirming of the cultural contributions of every racial group in our world, we pray,
Lord of all, hear our prayer.That we may make a personal commitment to abolish social structures which inhibit economic, educational and social advancement of the poor, we pray,
Lord of all nations, hear our prayer.That we may work for decent working conditions, adequate income, housing, education and health care for all people, we pray,
Lord of all nations, hear our prayer.
Amen.(adapted from the Augustinians of the Midwest,www.midwestaugustinians.org/justpaxracepray.html)
~ The Rev. Deacon Judith Schellhammer, chair, Resolution Review Committee
