Racial Injustice // A Letter from Pastor Mike
Dear Asbury,
Worship this past Sunday gave me goosebumps and brought me to tears. I felt the presence of the Holy Spirit of God as we celebrated Pentecost while lamenting the sin of racism. It is clearly evident that people are crying out in pain in many different ways. What is the role of the church in our current cultural moment? God calls the church to denounce sin in all its forms and proclaim the good news of the gospel with our actions and words. Our Bishop, Ken Carter articulated it well. “We begin by acknowledging that racism is sin and antithetical to the gospel. We confess and denounce our own complicity. We take a stand against any and all expressions of racism and white supremacy, beginning with the racial, cultural, and class disparities in our state and country that are highlighted by the coronavirus pandemic. We sound the clarion call for the eradication of racism. We challenge governmental leaders who fan the flames of racial division for political gain. We examine our own attitudes and actions; all change begins with transformed hearts continually yielding to the righteousness and love of God.”
In the United Methodist Church we ask a poignant question to those who are about to be baptized. “Do you accept the freedom and power God gives you to resist evil, injustice, and oppression in whatever forms they present themselves?” If you were baptized in the United Methodist Church you answered “I do” to that question. This is a moment where we the church have an opportunity to follow through on our promise.
Talking about what is happening in our country can feel overwhelming and we might be unsure of what we can do. I’ve found some patterns in scripture that might be helpful. First, we must listen to the pain. The curfew alerts we received on Sunday evening for Orange County were a tangible reminder of the anguish in our own community. May we faithfully follow God by hearing the cries of those in pain. (Exodus 3:9) Second, may we look inward and ask ourselves, have I contributed to the pain others are experiencing? Our Methodist history of race relations is not great. We have missed the mark on a number of occasions. One example is ministry of Richard Allen a black man who founded the African Methodist Episcopal Church in 1794 after being forcibly removed from the altar during church because the white people were not done praying yet. To this day the African Methodist Episcopal Church and the United Methodist Church have not come back together again. For this I lament and repent.
The third thing we can do is repent and celebrate the vision of beloved community given to us at Pentecost. The Holy Spirit gives us power to cross boundaries and create fruitful Christian community. God gives us hope that things don’t have to stay the way they are and we can be instruments of change. We begin our repentance by naming the good news of the gospel, every person is made in the image of God. Every person has dignity and worth. Jesus proclaims this good news and proves it by doing ministry with those at the margins of society. (Luke 8:43-48) The ministry of Jesus and the church are aimed to make the good news of God a tangible reality here and now. I believe in a God who values justice as a path to peace and I believe Jesus would flip tables (Mark 11:15) if he watched the videos of George Floyd’s death, police brutality, and violence we see all over the internet/news. May we too as followers of Jesus Christ be instruments of change that bring about justice and peace.
How do we become instruments of the Holy Spirit to enact the vision of beloved community? In wrestling with that question I must begin by confessing there is a lot I have to learn and a lot we have to learn. As a white pastor leading a predominantly white church, I must acknowledge there is a lot I don’t know about racism and race relations. It is faithful to admit this and to seek to learn more. Here are some resources I am using to learn more and continue dialogue.
Sign up for a Zoom small group discussion on race starting Monday June 8th at 6:30pm. The class will read “White Fragility” by Robin DiAngelo and be cotaught by Pastor Mike and Alina Saucedo. Email PastorMike@Asburyumc.com to sign up.
Read the Statements from our Bishop, Ken Carter
An Interview with Dr. Robin DeAngelo on improving racial awareness
The 1619 Podcast on the History of Slavery in America
Grace and Peace,
Rev. Mike Luzinski