I guess you could say I've been lucky. Over my 47+ years on this planet I have been able to watch the ugly issues of racism from afar, never really being forced to personally participate in the miry muck of illogical prejudices.
Oh, I've been close. Back in 1991 my mom's 2nd marriage was to an African-american. This stirred up some gossip in the small white town in which I grew up. I certainly learned some things as a young college kid about who you thought you knew. But by in large, I was off on my own, away from the small world-view of that 1,000 population village.
Fast forward to my clergy career. Again, my 3 appointments have been very homogeneous in the way of race: 2 rural areas and my current appointment. Born in 1972, I didn't experience the Civil Rights movement nor the hot topic of segregation.... at least I don't have any memories of those struggles. Even if I had, the closed-in community in which I was raised would not have been impacted much in any case.
Now fast forward to this week. On Friday there is an event that I will be attending. If you have Facebook, you can see it here. ORV Peaceful Witness. An United Methodist/ecumenical event that will be a time when I will stand and let people know that racism has no place among us. There will be signs and a quiet time of prayer and a few speakers.... an event that has been received well by the village and who will be supporting us. I like how it has been organized and the very peaceful intent of the organizers. It's one of the reasons I am attending.
That said, after the news I saw last night regarding a similar event in Bethel, I was taken back to my small village childhood. It may always be a precarious situation when you stand up for what you think is right. And if you are going to allow yourself to get into a precarious situation, you better have a good understanding of your convictions. Good leaders always do. Good people always do.
So if your convictions around racism are strong enough, I invite you to the event. I will be emailing out to many of you the details of what is expected. If you would like a copy of that info but are not on the church emailing list, email me at pastorjoe@emmanuel-umc.com and I will send you a copy.
Our world is chaotic enough right now that, after 47+ years on this planet, I feel it is time to stand up and voice my concern regarding the miry muck of illogical prejudices. You are invited.
God is Good,
Pastor Joe
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