FIRST STEPS FOR PASTOR TO ADDRESS RACISM

Here is your first option to initiate your anti-racism process with your church.

IDENTIFYING AND INVITING SOME CLERGY COLLEAGUES:

1. Identify five or six other clergy that you think might also be interested in exploring an anti-racism strategy in their churches.  While it is not essential in this first step, it would be preferable if there were both Black and White pastors.
   1. Preferably arrange for either some members of your church to prepare the meal or find a private dining room in a convenient restaurant accessible by your guests.
   1. Alert them to the fact that you want to find a convenient date when all of you might come together to both discuss and experiment with an anti-racism strategy. Assure them that they aren’t making a commitment beyond having a meal together until the idea is fully explored.
   1. Tell them you will send them a small piece of homework that you would like them to complete before they arrive
   1. Make clear that you will meet for a couple of hours to eat and discuss the idea.
2. The homework is this:
   1. Ask them to come with a list of 5-10 Scriptures or faith ideas that speak to the issues surrounding racism and its effects in both our churches and our society.
      1. Those who bring at least eight will receive a special desert!!!
   1. Preferably these are statements that a majority of their members would recognize as a part of the Christian faith.  (e.g. You shall love your neighbor)
3. During your time together, each will share their list and then as a group you will try to identify a combined list of ten that together you feel are recognizable as central to basic Christian faith.
4. Then seek an agreement from your gathered clergy that you all will, on an identified date, send an email to the membership of each of your churches, describing the process you have been through and the concluding results.

ADDRESSING THE MEMBERSHIP OF EACH CONGREGATION

• You will ask each member to identify the statements that they agree are appropriate for a Christian church.
• This is the beginning of a multi-congregational conversation within the larger church. Inform the members of all participating churches that each church will see the cumulative results of each church’s membership.
• Also inform the membership that they each will soon receive a couple of brief surveys of your membership with some questions about our understanding of both the nature of church and faith as it considers what the Gospel has to say with respect to racism. Again, the cumulative results of each church, without individual names attached, will be share with the participating churches.
• When these results have been gathered and graphed for visual reflection, the churches will arrange for some shared church assemblies in which to reflect together on the results.
• Hopefully, each assembly will include members of both Black and White churches and in this mixed company you will engage in the discipline of Active Listening to deeper understand the impact of racism in our society.  (This discipline will be further defined below.)
• Then the churches will engage in an adaptation of the Truth and Reconciliation process developed in South Africa to deepen our understanding.
  •  This will involve a process described below in having some Black Christians share their experience of racism in their lives from early to present experiences.                  
  • Also it will involved some White Christians testifying to what they have learned about their participation in racial structures of our society and their commitment to re-write the story of their lives.
  • Having experienced both of those sets of stories, the group will begin to explore how together they can begin to re-write the story of faith addressing racism as ambassadors of reconciliation.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/7452pqh59c4rxvx

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