First Reformed UCC: Critical Conversations on Faith and Race
2CFAR
CRUCIAL CONVERSATIONS ON FAITH AND RACE
It all started with a Bible Study. Sounds innocent enough, right? But maybe Bibles should come with their own warning label. “Open At Your Own Risk!” Because where two or three are gathered in Jesus’ name, your can believe that the afflicted will be comforted, and the comfortable will be afflicted.
Birthed out of a desire to impact the city on a larger scale, four churches formed a partnership that has been life changing. In 2017, Dave Fulton led the effort for First Reformed to find ways to reach out more to the community. He reached out to St. Stephen United Methodist Church, Shady Side Presbyterian Church and Second Reformed United Church of Christ. We were looking for ministries that we as a group could do that were maybe bigger than any one church could do alone.
During a meeting to discuss ways they could follow God’s commandment to serve others, a suggestion was made by the Rev. Jim Luck, Pastor of Second Reformed UCC, to convene specifically to discuss race. With congregations that are either predominantly African American or Caucasian at each church, the group was aware of the essential need for this action. Since the meetings already included the persons who were vital to the conversation, Rev. Luck felt it was an opportune time to “address the elephant in the room. If you have black and white people together, why not talk about black and white people?” he asked.
In May of 2019, that’s what we did. Opening the conversation to members of all four congregations, the discussions were prompted by questions like:
When did you become aware of race?
How does racism show up in churches?
In the art you have seen in your churches, what color skin does Jesus have?
Why is 11:00 am known as the lost segregated hour in the USA?
How do we fall to the idolatry of whiteness?
Hearing the answers produced feelings of shock, embarrassment and frustration. Many in the group have early experiences with racism as they attended school when segregation was still lawful. One African American male shared a story of how he was wrongly identified as a suspect in a robbery earlier in the year. Most of the Caucasian people in the group had no idea experiences like this still happen in the present day, much less in Lexington.
Since then, we have read together Dr Martin Luther King’s Letter from a Birmingham Jail. That letter’s message to white moderate clergy was sharp and stinging. We have explored scriptures and watched movies. We have confessed our biases and prejudices, and people have shown the grace to help us deconstruct ingrained stereotypes. We have confessed our lack of action and heard the pain of doing nothing causes. We have seen how that has hurt others.
Even with Covid, we have met over Zoom gathering folks along the way. We have expanded to include people from different sectors of this city and county. The group meets together weekly to pray and discuss how we can support racial justice and reconciliation in this community. We have held Prayer Vigils in 2020 to end racism in the aftermath of the George Floyd murder.
The name 2CFAR came organically. We are about having conversations. We are used to talking at others. 2CFAR is a dance of listening and talking. If this is something you are interested in, join us on Tuesdays at noon. Also, please join us for Sunday worship on July 31 at the Breeden Amphitheater. For more information, please visit us at www.2cfar.org.
2CFAR Proclamation
“I prayed for freedom for twenty years, but received no answer until I prayed with my legs.” – Frederick Douglas
Whereas, as a Faith based organization, Crucial Conversations on Faith and Race (2CFAR), we deplore racism against fellow human beings who are created in the image of God,
Whereas, the recent, senseless, inhuman killing of Mr. George Floyd by a member of the Law Enforcement Community in the state of Minnesota,
Whereas, racism is also present in more subtle and passive forms in social and institutional settings where systems of discrimination prevent the hiring and/or upward mobility of gifted and qualified individuals.
Now, therefor, be it resolved, 2CFAR will pray with our legs:
To speak out against systemic racism, bigotry and oppression that have cultivated this level of police brutality in our society but on a local level,
For the just treatment of black, brown and mixed people within our community,
To work tirelessly to advocate for justice, equality and equity within our community,
To teaching in our homes and in our social circles against racism and noting God’s desire for reconciliation between races,
To work with local agencies of government to review and hold these agencies accountable to our community to the highest of standards and duties of care for all people,
To celebrate the presence and participation of our brothers and sisters from all ethnic and racial backgrounds in our local churches, ministry affiliations, and partner organizations.
Join us. Conversations on Faith and Race.
Rev. Elizabeth Horton
Pastor, First Reformed United Church of Christ
