Racial Reconciliation

Racism seems to be one of the most complex and nuanced social dilemmas since the beginning of our country.  This letter outlines our church’s systemic approach to racial reconciliation through personal devotional readings, one-on-one dialogue, small group discussions, and testimonies on Sunday worship services in 2020.
 
We recommend a prayerful method to read White Fragility by Dr. Robin DiAngelo.  For starters, I recommend viewing “Dr. Robin DiAngelo discusses White Fragility.” (2018, YouTube, length 1:23), where Dr. DiAngelo reads through and expounds on the book’s highlights.  I found the first 30 minutes to be the best insight into Dr. DiAngelo’s background, personhood, and purpose for writing the book.

This first step involves a devotional technique while reading “White Fragility” to make us more aware and interactive with God.  (1) Before you begin reading, pause and ask God for the Mind of Christ. (2) After completing each paragraph, ask for the Mind of Christ to continue to humble and teach you. (3) While reading each paragraph or page write in the margins your highs, mediums and lows:
            *Highs: Write in the margin “H” by the paragraph (or page) you agree. Then pause to thank God for the book’s affirmation.
            *Mediums: Mark “M” by the paragraph (or page) any new insights into your understanding of systemic racism.  Then ask God how you                            might respond.  Include in the margin your thoughts.
            *Lows: Mark “L” by the paragraphs (or page) that you totally disagree. Express to God how you feel and why.  Record it in the margin.  

Our second step challenges you to invite a trusted friend from your own ethnic group to read White Fragility.  Mix marriage couples may read the book together or not.  After reading one or two chapters each week, come together once a week to discuss your margin notes, your highs, mediums, and lows.

Our third step we invited ethnic groups together for two Zoom meetings to review the first half of the book and then the second half of the book.  Everyone shared one high, two mediums, and one low from the first half of the book.  Ethnically mixed couples who read the book together and can chose which Zoom group to join.

The ongoing steps during worship services from September to Thanksgiving of 2020 included five to 20-minute personal testimonies from our members’ experiences with racism and how they have dealt with it as a Christian. “Who Do People Say That I Am?” will be our theme during our 11-week series of Sunday morning messages on racial reconciliation.

The next step crosses racial lines to find a trusted friend to meet with once a week to review margin comments of your highs, mediums, and lows.

In the final step, racially mixed small groups.  At this point, the timeline became fluid.  We met to debrief the first half of the book as it seemed appropriate for the members of the groups.

For a Biblical understanding of our vision and process of racial reconciliation, see my August 16, 2020, sermon on our website at lancasterunited.org.

This is an exciting time to be a part of God’s family and our nation's deliberations and restoration toward racial equality.  Our plans oblige us to be “Careful” with our hearts and words, “Caring” with our actions and reactions, and “Creative” with our minds in following God’s lead together.  All things are possible as we humble ourselves before God and one another.  ~ Pastor Greg

P.S. Our spring 2021 reading plans for Racial Reconciliation include Lattashe Morrison’s book, Be the Bridge, Pursuing God’s Heart for Racial Reconciliation.  Our plans include reading partners, small groups, and two listening assemblies with three African-American professionals from our community as guests.

We may not feel like we were a part of our nation’s abusive past of black history. We may take Martin Luther King’s speech very seriously, “Don’t judge a person by the color of their sin, but by the content of their character.” However, there is a Biblical principle of corporate repentance that we need to consider and put right the consequences of our ancestor’s transgressions that still affect us today.  
Both Old Testament leaders, Ezra (priest and scribe) and Daniel (prophet), identified with the guilt and shame of their fellow Israelites who had been unfaithful to the Lord.  These two leaders were personally innocent of the sins committed by the people, but they felt the weight of the guilt and shame and prayed the following:
“O my God, I am too ashamed and disgraced to lift up my face to you, my God because our sins are higher than our heads and our guilt has reached to the heavens.” (Ezra 9:6 NIV)
“O Lord, we and our kings, princes, and our fathers (ancestors) are covered with shame because we have sinned against you.” (Daniel 9:8 NIV, parenthesis mine)
           
“Ezra and Daniel had been personally innocent of personal sin yet identified with the guilt and shame of their people’s unfaithfulness.  They did not try to distance themselves from the collective sin of their people…but they came under guilt and shame nonetheless…and in their lament, they asked God to spare his people. As members of a group, they assumed the responsibility to confess and seek reconciliation on behalf of the group.” (Latasha Morrison, Be the Bridge, p. 69)

I strongly recommend Morrison’s book, Be the Bridge: Pursuing God’s Heart for Racial Reconciliation.  It is full of truth and grace, Biblical references, well-written individual and corporate prayers, humility, forgiveness, and practical steps for racial reconciliation.

Families across the United States, of all colors, would do well to get back to the spiritual heritage and love and respect for all God’s people who have made us a unique nation.   Christ perfects our prayers for America and the world as we humble ourselves before God and each other.

As a church, each Sunday during February, some of our members who have participated in our Racial Reconciliation journey since July 2020 will share a few key pieces of what they have learned through their readings and small group experiences.  Plus, we will be sharing some very practical steps of how each of us can be a part of healing our nation’s soul.    
 
Each Sunday, we will have an opportunity to listen and learn, humble ourselves to heal, open ourselves to opportunities to pray in union with Christ, and walk in God’s grace and truth.  The Psalmist said these words in Psalm 122:11, “I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the Lord.”

I trust you will enjoy our time together in February as we lift up the name of Jesus Christ together in unity.
~ Pastor Greg