If we cannot teach slavery, which was irrefutably core to our history, how will we ever teach or face this country’s racist past? And if we cannot face our racism, how will we ever dismantle white privilege and the persistent beliefs that stem from it?
We believe that it is important to both keep Dr. King’s “prophetic voice” in the forefront of the struggle for racial and social justice and reconciliation, and to remind people that his message and work were firmly grounded in Scripture and the gospel of Jesus Christ. We want to encourage individuals and congregations to honor Dr. King’s legacy by doing the same.
Ruth Everhart courageously shares her experiences and others in “The #MeToo Reckoning: Facing the Church’s Complicity in Sexual Abuse and Misconduct.” Everhart weaves in her story, the stories of other victims, and stories from Scripture of abuse and assault. She lifts up women’s and children’s voices who have often been silenced, concluding each chapter with questions of what the text asks us, and what her own hope is for the church.
Social activism and spirituality are both well-served when what is wrought in the one is woven into the fabric of the other.
If we can find God in our shared meals, perhaps there is space to find God in the preparation of those meals if we take the time.
Today, I pray for a grand emergence of a new generation of radically Christian and socially subversive parents who will shepherd their little church faithfully and unabashedly.