Prayer & action

On Monday, I joined with over 100 other concerned clergy members of Western Pennsylvania for an Ecumenical Prayer & Protest event, organized by pastors and leaders in the African American community. We began with a prayer service at Freedom Corner in the Hill District in Pittsburgh, where nine speakers shared reflections and a call to action against racial injustices. We then marched down the hill to the City-County Building for a prayer before dispersing. 

My view as we marched from Freedom Corner to the City-County Building in Pittsburgh

It was powerful, and unfamiliar, to hear the strong voices of Black clergy from traditions other than my own. It was powerful, and challenging, to be reminded of the fear and pain and burdens the Black community has borne for hundreds of years because of the inequality that is a reality in our nation. The speakers shared lots of wisdom, but the words that kept ringing in my ears came from Rev. Brian Edmonds. In his charge to White leaders, he said this: "We need you to be in the spaces we are not, sounding like us."

It is not the job of Black people to fix racial inequalities and hatred. It's not their job, but they're trying anyway, and they need us - need White people - to come alongside them as allies and co-conspirators. They need us - need White people - to do the work in our own hearts and our own families and our own churches.

I am sorry to say that when I have specifically preached against the sin of racism, it was in response to a high-profile event, like the shooting in Charleston in 2015, or the murder of George Floyd this past week. It's important to pay attention to these shocking, widely-publicized events, but it is more important to do the work every day.

In my sermon on Sunday, I shared words from the baptism liturgy. Here are a few more, which come just before we say the Apostles' Creed together: "I ask you to profess your faith in Christ Jesus, reject sin, and confess the faith of the church. Do you renounce the devil and all the forces that defy God? I renounce them. Do you renounce the powers of this world that rebel against God? I renounce them. Do you renounce the ways of sin that draw you from God? I renounce them." These are not empty words, but words that require action. 

I'm gathering some ideas for books we can read as a congregation, and conversations we can share, as we learn together how to better love our neighbors with Black and brown skin. It's not enough to have one-time statements; this is ongoing, critical work.

Bonus resources: 

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