Sin of Racism
I have heard from Canon Carrie and Father Matt Burdette that a number of people have inquired about resources to understand better the sin of racism against people of color in our nation in the light of the painful and yet hopeful events of the past few weeks. We have fellow Episcopalians fully able to put these issues in a framework that is not partisan but theological. (for example i have been thinking recently of the New Testament’s ‘powers and principalities,’ invisible frameworks within and beyond us, conscious and unconscious, at once political and intellectual, an example of which would be today’s ‘structural racism’).
As you know, such concerns are embedded in our Baptismal Covenant where we promise to ‘strive for justice and peace among all people, and respect the dignity of every human being.’ Our own anti-racism commission stands ready to assist in any programs of anti-racism you might initiate in the parish. They also recommend the following books:
Racism without Racists: Color-Blind Racism and the Persistence of Racial Inequality in America (5th edition), by Edwardo Bonilla-Silva
Jesus and the Disinherited, by Howard Thurman
I also would remind everyone that we have been deeply involved in shared ministry with Churches in south for some time through the Greater Dallas Coalition. The information about all their ministries are on the website. This is a great time for just such collaboration and hence learning, not to mention the reminder they provide that the Church is already one because the Lord of the Church is one. Please get involved in one way or another. To learn more on all these fronts be in touch with Canon Carrie and Father Matt, co-chairs of the commission. Check out their resource page here.
Peace
+GRS