The Work of Anti-Racism

Friends, 

 

Quick Announcement: If you are interested in understanding issues around Homelessness better, you can sign up for a one-hour online Homelessness 101 class next Thursday at noon here. And, if you want to improve your advocacy skills, you can sign up for a one-hour online class on Tuesday, August 25 at noon here. Both classes are free and very well done.

 

Last Sunday’s worship was especially electric as we received 11 new members into our church family. And the quartet’s anthem was stunning. Many thanks to Pastor SueJeanne for enriching the story of Ruth and challenging our perspective of how we demonstrate our own value system when we identify the “good immigrant.” It was a lovely weekend all around, with contributions to so many people working behind the scenes as our Membership Commission, Session, Ushers and Greeters, Childcare workers, and so forth. 

 

As I mentioned last week, we will have a gathering on Sunday, August 23^rd, at 11:00am to discuss adopting an Anti-Racism policy here at St. Mark. The impetus for doing so comes from the Presbyterian Church (USA) Book of Order, part of our constitution, which says, “The unity of believers in Christ is reflected in the rich diversity of the Church’s membership. In Christ, by the power of the Spirit, God unites persons through baptism regardless of race, ethnicity, age, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, geography, or theological conviction. There is therefore no place in the life of the Church for discrimination against any person. The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) shall guarantee full participation and representation in its worship, governance, and emerging life to all persons or groups within its membership.” [Foundations of Presbyterian Polity -1.0403]

 

This bold statement has been the source of many conflicts in our denomination’s past and recent conversations. It is a faithful, but challenging vision. It urges us to move beyond simply being “nice” or saying, “All are welcome.” Being nice and welcoming are wonderful qualities, without a doubt. But anti-racism is deeper work than that. It calls us to look at the ways we have historically and systematically held practices that did not welcome the gifted contributions that the diversity of the church offers. Let me give a small example. 

 

Our Presbytery meetings aspire to have an equal number of “teaching elders” (pastors, chaplains, other involve in ‘validated ministries) and “ruling elders,” such as the elder representatives that we send to each meeting. Each year we count the teaching elders and try to adjust the number of ruling elders that we need to keep that balance. In previous years, if we needed more ruling elder representation, an invitation would be offered to larger churches, under the presumption that they represent more people, so they should be able to have a larger voice. It is a common practice in many presbyteries. A few years ago we changed that practice. The larger churches have typically had plenty of representation and a large voice over the years, but our “racial/ethnic churches” (the phrase our denomination uses) are often smaller and, as a group, underrepresented. So, we changed our process. Now, when more ruling elders are needed, racial/ethnic congregations are invited first to send more elders. I was a big advocate for that change, even though it meant that St. Mark lost a representative slot. It was a nice awakening for our presbytery that we had fallen into a “those who have lots get more” mentality, rather than looking for ways to ensure that racial/ethnic voices are heard. That’s a small sign of adopting an anti-racism mentality. Still, we have a long way to go. 

 

So, I invite you to go to the Presbytery of Los Ranchos’ website and read our recently adopted anti-racism policy. Please read it appreciatively and critically, noting the questions you may have or the suggestions you would recommend. We will begin our approach to St. Mark’s anti-racism policy with the presbytery’s policy and see where it takes us. It’s all about being faithful to the God whose expansive love was given to us in Jesus Christ. 

 

You can find the presbytery policy here.  

 

See you in worship, 

Mark of St. Mark