A sacred conversation around race 5/18
Our goal is to create a beloved community, and this will require a qualitative change in our souls as well as a quantitative change in our lives. –The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
The Sunday after Pentacost has always been devoted to the traditional Christian concept of trinity. Over the centuries, a misuse of this concept has distorted the biblical understanding that ‘God is ONE’ [Deut 6:4]. Far from being a defining term for a ‘one true God,’ the concept of trinity reflects notions of the comprehensiveness of God. In our reading from Matthew 28:18-20, we have a final word of Jesus to his followers, in which he says: “All power is given to me…go, therefore, and organize disciples (communities of faith based on the actions and teachings of Jesus)…immersing them in the meaning of God as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and teaching them to observe all of my instructions.” [translation with some commentary]
Given issues around the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, retired pastor of Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago, the UCC has called for some sacred conversation around race; so, in the spirit of Pentacost, we will begin such a conversation. Sacred conversations are not always easy, especially when we are dealing with our nation’s painful past.
Beloved Sisters and Brothers in Christ,
On May 18, in United Church of Christ pulpits all across the nation, pastors will be preaching on race in the hope of inaugurating sacred conversation in the coming months that is urgently needed in our churches, in our homes and work places, and in the halls of power. Racism remains a wound at the heart of our nation, a wound that cannot be wished away or treated carelessly. In this sacred conversation, we seek to engage one another in a deep and sustained dialogue that may be uncomfortable at times but is absolutely necessary if our nation is to find genuine healing of its past and present sins. Not only the health of our nation is at stake, but also truth-telling and racial reconciliation are crucial to our spiritual, physical, and emotional wholeness.
Join us at 11:00 am.