| One of
the consequences of racism is that our communities and our congregations
continue to be divided along racial lines. Many communities across
the country will celebrate the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday
with an ecumenical worship service. This is an excellent time
to initiate a partnership with a community group or congregation
to bring people together, working to build relationships across
differing cultural and racial lines through a common project.
The Martin Luther King Center encourages churches, organizations,
and individuals to celebrate the legacy of Dr. King through volunteerism,
keeping faith with the dream of an open and inclusive society
not divided by racism.
Bringing people together from different communities and congregations
to work together—teaching English as a second language,
tutoring children, or building housing with Habitat for Humanity—can
build mutual relationships and be a tremendous learning experience
for the volunteers. Team up with another congregation to do
a little research into the needs of your community. Are there
existing programs that need volunteer support, or is there an
unmet need to which your congregations can respond? The key
is to have members of both congregations involved in the exploration,
assessment, decision-making, and planning. When the ultimate
goal is community- and relationship-building, the process is
as important as the project.
Congregational partnerships often involve pulpit and choir
exchanges or joint services. Many congregations have hosted
joint vacation Bible schools or joint youth retreats. Consider
bringing a group of adults from two or three congregations for
Bible study for a given period of time. It might be once a week
during Lent, or one Sunday evening a month for a year. One of
the tools employed in the anti-racism training offered through
the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) is a process for facilitating
Bible study by mutual invitation. In this model, first developed
by Eric Law (The Wolf Shall Dwell with the Lamb, Chalice
Press, 1993), the emphasis is on sharing personal reflection.
Leadership of the group is shared by inviting one another to
speak. It is an excellent way to share personal experience and
build mutual relationships.
If your congregation wants to address issues of racial justice
more directly, find out if your presbytery has an anti-racism
team, or consider forming a racial justice and reconciliation
team at the congregational level. The Office
for Racial Justice and Advocacy has training resources designed
to foster open dialogue and a greater understanding of the systemic
nature of racism. Presbyterian Women (PW) has also trained facilitators
for anti-racism training in each synod and developed a resource
for fostering racial ethnic dialogue. Contact your PW leadership
at the presbytery or synod level, or call the Office for Racial
Justice and Advocacy to find out who the facilitators in your
synod are, or learn about training your own facilitators.
For additional information on resources for racial justice
ministries, go to www.pcusa.org/racialethnic/justice. |
