A Message from Pastor Steve
Dear Beloved Church,
These past several weeks have been very troubling and heart breaking. As we have witnessed in the news and on social media, the topic of racism has led to heated discussions that resemble a tug of war, rather than meaningful conversations. We have seen peaceful protest but have also seen rioting and chaos in response to the horrible and unnecessary death of George Floyd, which was captured on video for the world to see. The recent shooting deaths of Indigenous persons, 26 year old Chantel Moore and 48 year old Rodney Levi, here in our own province, has left us with sadness, grief and with more questions than answers. These and other events have been catalysts to bringing the issue of racism to the forefront, where we now are given the opportunity to address it.
As Pastor Greg shared during our June 7th service, it is difficult to know what to do, and how we, as a church, can respond. Perhaps this discernment is difficult because many of us have never had to endure or have not personally felt the pain of racism and its effect in our lives. So we lack understanding from the point of view of someone who has experienced and lived through racism and who may be still experiencing it.
As an African American man, Tony Dungy, a former player, coach and now sports commentator for the NFL, had the best response that I have come across in the media, so I share it with you here…
“As I have watched the events in Minneapolis unfold the last few days I have wondered & prayed about how I should respond. Below are my thoughts. I hope you read the whole thing because the final thought is most important.
“America is in a very sad place today. We have seen a man die senselessly, at the hands of the very people who are supposed to be protecting our citizens. We have seen people protest this death by destroying property and dreams of people in their own community, the very people they are protesting for. We have many people pointing fingers of blame, painting the opposite side with a broad brush. We have anger and bitterness winning out over logic and reason. We have distrust and prejudice winning out over love and respect.
What happened to George Floyd was inexcusable and it should never happen. Justice needs to be served, but in seeking justice we can’t fall into the trap of prejudging every police officer we see. What started out as peaceful protests have devolved into arson and looting and that should never happen, either. Yes there should be protest. But we do not have license to perform criminal acts because we’re angry.
Today we are a divided country. We’re divided racially, politically, and socio-economically. And Satan is laughing at us because that is exactly what he wants. Dysfunction, mistrust, and hatred help this kingdom flourish.
Well, what is the answer then? I believe it has to start with those of us who claim to be Christians. We have to come to the forefront and demonstrate the qualities of the One we claim to follow, Jesus Christ. We can’t be silent. As Dr. King said many years ago, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere!” But we can’t go forward with judgmental, bitter spirits. We need to be proactive, but do it in the spirit of trying to help make things better. And it can’t be just the African American churches. It has to be ALL churches taking a stand and saying, “We are going to be on the forefront of meaningful dialogue and meaningful change.”
We have to be willing to speak the truth in love but we have to recognize that we are not fighting against other people. We are fighting against Satan and his kingdom of spiritual darkness.
In the words of the Apostle Paul, “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” Roman 12:21 NIV “
As a person who grew up in a predominantly white Atlantic Canada in the 1970’s and 80’s, I am realizing that I have had an advantage over my brothers and sisters of colour. I also realize it is easy to disassociate myself from racism if I do not consider myself a racist person. But having a neutral stance or no stance at all is not a way forward, and so the first thing at the very least we must do, is to listen and to prayerfully engage in meaningful dialogue as Pastor Greg, and Tony Dungy suggest.
Jesus gave his disciples this command in John 13:34-35 on the eve of his arrest by the Romans:
“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
This command came after the loving, servant posture Jesus illustrated in washing his disciples’ feet, and before his completely self-denying, sacrificial act of love of suffering and dying on the cross for us. Scripture reveals that Jesus agonized over drinking the cup that the Father had placed before him (Luke 22:42-44), but through his complete submission and obedience to His Father’s will, He willingly and knowingly went to the cross for us.
In our effort to engage in meaningful dialogue we must be willing to enter into a ‘submission competition’ and allow the Spirit of God to lead us to a listening posture so that we can learn and grow from our brothers and sisters in Christ who have personally experienced forms of racism.
There will be planned avenues of dialogue and we hope many will take the time to be present. As God’s people who follow Jesus, we must be willing to listen.
May God bless and keep you,
Pastor Steve
