This Sunday it is important to acknowledge the global upwelling of concern, solidarity and outrage about racism and the inequality it fosters. Through the centuries Christianity has upheld the Gospel of love and inclusion in Christ Jesus. At the same time the structures of the institutional church have too often supported exclusion and subjugation through a false reading of scripture and distortion of Christ's teaching and example, even to death on the cross.
This past week leaders from several denominations, including Moderator Richard Bott of the United Church of Canada, issued a letter of response to what has been unfolding. The press release included these paragraphs:
In response to the demonstrations across the United States and Canada in the wake of the May 25 death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, the leaders of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada, the Anglican Church of Canada, and The United Church of Canada have issued a joint letter.
They write, “It is important for church members in our largely white churches to look at how we continue to perpetuate anti-Black racism, either inadvertently or intentionally. George Floyd’s words, ‘I can’t breathe,’ continue to ring in our ears; they act as a prophetic voice of the pain and re-traumatization that is coming from peoples of African descent again and again.”
We may be reluctant to attend a rally or march because of the directives about public assembly in the midst of a pandemic but we an respond in thoughtful, prayerful reflection.
Here is the link to the letter and another to this week's reflection by the Rev. Isaac Mundy, our son:
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