Engaging The Color of Christ
So much has stirred in our minds and hearts around the issues of racism and injustice since the death of George Floyd. Protests. Town Halls. Conversations on the street and in our homes. Everyone… everywhere… is paying attention and capturing this moment in our troubled history around these issues… to move forward for systemic change.
At All Saints’, under Rev. Amber’s leadership, we are asking how, as a faith community, we can play a role in the healing of the wounds of racism.
In a message to the parish, Amber writes, “A few weeks ago, we had a very lively discussion at (virtual) coffee hour about racism. Several people were asking how we, as a faith community, can play a role in the healing of racism. We have posted a statement on our web page about racism and we are looking at putting a banner on the church expressing our solidarity with the black community.”
These are small first steps, here at the beginning of our pilgrimage with historical and contemporary racism. In the coming days and weeks, our Rector and Vestry will offer guidance for the parish’s development of a plan to engage the public conversation and action surrounding this unfolding national and global story.
“We need to do some education around the issue of racism and by education I mean more than just an intellectual conversation,” Amber writes. “Rather we need to gather in sacred space to recognize our own racism which will require a willingness to be vulnerable with ourselves and others.”
Starting this month, Wednesdays — July 15, 22, and 29, 6:30 – 8:00 p.m., Amber will lead us on a pilgrimage through the history of racism in the church, helping us engage these issues through the text by Edward J. Blum and Paul Harvey titled, The Color of Christ: The Son of God and the Saga of Race in America. This series will be offered via Zoom at 6:30 p.m.
Sign up for The Color of Christ 3-part series offered via Zoom.
“If we want to be a compassionate and just presence with black lives we need to know how we as followers of Christ have participated and institutionalized racism in our tradition,” Amber writes. “This coming together around racism is only a starting point. It is a very long pilgrimage to unlearning white privilege and to embracing full inclusion.”
In September, look for the series to pick up on a more vulnerable pilgrimage about confronting racism within ourselves.