Monday, August 14, 2017

Speaking Up and Out

Two messages in my email today. One from a clergy group in my county, the other from the staff of my church's collective governance folks, both responding to the violence in our state, in Charlottesville. The whole incident has me dismayed, at the lack of leadership displayed by so many, maybe even by me. This is a call to all of us to speak up and speak out.  Good words are not hard to find. Here are some:

"The images of the violence in Charlottesville – physical as well as ideological – remind the Church that there is work that needs to be done.  The sin of racism is not new, nor does this pervasive form of idolatry exist solely outside the church.
 
As followers of the Christ, let us be clear where we stand.  We are all formed in the image of God.  The Confession of Belhar calls us to remember that we are to be ‘the salt of the earth and the light of the world’, therefore, as a Presbytery, let us be that beacon of light.  Encouraging one another to live into a ‘new obedience’ we urge our member churches in both word and deed to actively confront racism that exists in our pews, and our communities. " 

I'm proud to stand with the church of Jesus Christ on this one.

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