Having the hard conversations

Over the course of the last couple of weeks we have seen another crisis come to the forefront of our national conversations. However, this one isn't a surprise. It has been with us from the founding of our nation. We have tried, and failed, to do something about it.

Our collective sin of racism must be addressed if we are to go forward as a nation. We can't be together if we still have parts of us who are treated as second class citizens.

As a people of faith, Jesus calls on us to live differently. He opened the floodgates in a call to treat others as we would be treated. He brought in the children, women, Samaritans, tax collectors, prostitutes, disabled, troubled, broken, rich, poor, Gentile, Jew, and so many others. He had the audacity to say in a world that is marked by the sin of "better than" that all are the same.

It has taken us 2,000 years to begin to understand this.

This last week our Bishop came out with a statement and a challenge. His words are below.

You can also read his statement on our conference website

Bishop Farr Expresses Outrage

In that statement he includes links to two books on Cokesbury's website. I've also included links to them on Amazon.

White Fragility
How to be an Antiracist

As a further statement on how deeply these conversations are beginning to happen all around us, hard copies of these books are sold out. More are being printed, but it may take some time. If you want, you can read them as ebooks as well.

Later this Summer, after the books become available, we will begin to gather to have these conversations. This is a small, but necessary step forward. As a people of faith, we must be a part of these conversations. If we are not, then we have to ask ourselves why we continue to gather.