Race

Biblical stories guide us in our walk of faith and are often told through the land— the Isrealites journey through the desert, Moses’ burning bush, gatherings by the shore to hear Jesus preach, and the journey to Emmaus. These stories are not only preserved in our sacred text but Israelites honored some of these stories by erecting stone remembrances on the landscape (Joshua 4:9). 

Sometimes I travel solo and when I do, it allows me to people-watch and be more perceptive of situations around me. One such time was a trip to California this past May.

I immigrated to the United States when I was 6 years old; a few months shy of turning 7. I started second grade without a word of English. My mother dressed me in what she thought was cute, but her idea of cute in the 80s was not American’s view of a fashionable 7-year-old. So at age 7, I started elementary school in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, surrounded by kids that did not look like me and couldn’t talk to me. The games that were played on the playground and the topics talked about in the classroom were foreign to me.

My last day with the CRCNA is May 31st, 2024. The thought of retirement is intriguing. I used to wonder how far away it was, with my plan initially set for 2028. But now, it's just around the corner, and I'm filled with anticipation and excitement. 

South Africa has always held a special place in my heart. I have long appreciated Nelson Mandela's autobiography, Long Walk to Freedom, which is a cherished book on my shelf. How could one not be moved by the journey of a leader who endured 27 years in prison, ultimately chose not to be violent, and emerged as the liberator of his people? 

The Belhar Confession has been described appropriately as “a cry from the heart.” It is an embodiment of lament in the face of racial injustice. I have found myself lamenting lately. I lament my father who was targeted by police because of his resistance to factory farming through butchering animals in his backyard - as he did in his home country.

I went to a writer’s conference last weekend and it was everything I expected and everything I didn’t expect. I mean what do you think of when you hear: West Virginia? "Take me home, Country Roads to a place I belong, West Virginia, Mountain Mama."  For a split second, I only referenced this song as one I learned in Elementary school, not as a John Denver classic. 

I find Walter Brueggemann's framework of orientation, disorientation, and reorientation quite helpful as we as a denomination try to grow in diversity and unity. According to Brueggemann, our faith journey begins with orientation, where we find ourselves in a state of deep gratitude for life's blessings. This phase is characterized by a sense of peace and order, where everything in our lives aligns harmoniously with God's creation. Yet, inevitably, we enter periods of disorientation, marked by loss, crisis, and confusion.

If I had my way of doing racial reconciliation, I would have to follow this verse of the Bible:  "My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise." Psalm 51:17. 

To me this means that I must be painstakingly convinced of my misery and danger by sin, which I spare no cost to obtain the forgiveness of it. A broken spirit and a contrite heart are those in which sorrow and affliction have done their work, and the stubbornness of pride has been replaced by the humility of penitence.