Christians need to adopt a deeper, more complex understanding of how race shapes our lives and communities, says the author and theologian in this interview. And to resist racism, we need to ‘recover’ Jesus, taking Christ and Scripture seriously.
Photo by Stephen Weichsel
The June 12, 2016, mass shooting in Orlando, Florida, generated an outpouring of news and commentary across the internet, much of it speaking directly to or about the church. Here are links to some of the most interesting and thought-provoking.
Reconciliation doesn’t begin with us but with God and God’s longing to reconcile all of us to himself. And Jesus is the model for how reconciliation happens, a scholar says in this interview.
The church has long neglected the third aspect of the Trinity, reducing it to a philosophical concept. But the Spirit is concrete and tangible, and recovering it is critical to the pursuit of reconciliation and social justice, the theologian says in this interview.
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A white youth pastor says it’s important to go beyond diversity when leading youth in the work of racial repair. Admitting failure, fostering careful listening, and paying attention to the local context are all important parts of the process, he writes.
Photo by Leroy Burnell / The (Charleston, S.C.) Post and Courier
A year after the mass shooting at Mother Emanuel AME Church, the congregation is healing from its own unique and often overlooked loss. And the hand of God is moving still, says a pastor assigned to the church after the shooting.
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Differentiating our observations from evaluations can help us recognize the fallibility of our own interpretive powers and acknowledge the racism in our own hearts and minds, writes the associate dean of diversity and cultural competency at Western Theological Seminary.
The Rev. Starsky Wilson, center, wearing stole, links arms with scholar and activist Cornel West as they participate in a direct action at the Thomas Eagleton Federal Court Building in downtown St. Louis on Aug. 10, 2015. Photo by Wiley Price/The St. Louis American
Part of the difficult witness for the privileged within the church is to renounce a bit of that privilege and work on behalf of the marginalized, says the co-chair of the Ferguson Commission.
Emile Nsengiyumva is a member of Westbury UMC, where he organized an African youth choir. Nsengiyumva has an entreprenerial spirit; he wants to create a comprehensive organization for African high schoolers in Houston. Photos by Mark Mulligan
Moise Mukanya, Nusura Mtendamema and Emile Nsengiyumva all experienced horrific violence in their home countries and in refugee camps before resettling in Houston. There they found a new home at Westbury UMC, where their presence has enriched the life of the congregation.
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In the season of Epiphany, an Episcopal priest asks, Do our communities create safe spaces where members can confess the particular ways in which they are broken and fall short of Jesus Christ’s calling, ask for help and be assured that they are not alone? If not, can we really call ourselves the church?