Sacred Conversation
Let's talk about race
On Sunday, May 18, many pastors across the UCC will be preaching on race in hopes of beginning a sacred conversation, a dialogue that is needed in our pews, our homes and the hallways of power across our country.
Sacred conversations are never easy, especially when honest talk confronts our nation's painful past and speaks directly to the injustices of the present day. Yet sacred conversations can, and often do, honor the value of diverse life experiences, requiring an openness to hear each others' viewpoints.
- Online Resources on Race at ctucc.org
- Connecticut Conference UCC
- Becoming the Multiracial, Multicultural Church, by Bernice Powell Jackson
- Connecticut Conference UCC (January, 2007): This bulletin insert in the "Let It Shine" series in conjunction with the UCC's 50th anniversary describes both the history and the challenges of creating a Beloved Community. The link is to a PDF of the insert; click here for the text only.
- Resources on Racism at ucc.org
- United Church of Christ: Make sure to follow the navigational links on the left side of the page to see all the resources.
- A New Church/A New World
- United Church of Christ: An anti-racism study group curriculum.
- A Church for All People: Becoming a Multiracial and Multicultural Church
- United Church of Christ: A Bible study curriculum.
- Handbook for a Conversation on Race
- Massachusetts Conference UCC: A resource developed for churches' use in celebration of the visit of the Freedom Schooner Amistad to Boston in 2003.
- Anti-Racism Resources
- Maine Conference UCC
- Racism, Experiences of the African-American Church, and Trinity UCC Resources
- Connecticut Conference UCC (March and April, 2008)
- Pastoral Letter on Racism, by the UCC Collegium of Officers
- (April, 2008)
- Pastoral Letter on Racism, by the Rev. Dr. Davida Foy Crabtree, Connecticut Conference Minister
- (April 23, 2008)
- "Sacred Conversation," by Jim Ahrend
- United Church of Christ: A hymn for May 18
- Prayers and Liturgies
- Massachusetts Conference UCC
- Hymns and Scripture possibilities
- Massachusetts Conference UCC
- Everyday Democracy
- Everyday Democracy (formerly the Study Circles Resource Center) is a national organization that helps local communities find ways for all kinds of people to think, talk and work together to solve problems. The oranization works with neighborhoods, cities and towns, regions, and states, helping them pay particular attention to how racism and ethnic differences affect the problems they address.
- Citizens Must Begin a Dialogue About Race, by Beverly Herbert Groton
- (New London Day, Apr. 30, 2008) In a letter to the editor, a citizen writes: "We have been given an excellent opportunity start to have an honest dialogue about race. No, the politicians will not have that conversation. It is up to us."
- Memo to White America: Respect African American Preaching, by Susan Brooks Thistlethwaite
- (Newsweek/Washington Post: On Faith, Apr. 28, 2008) "It is critical for our national future that we make the choice to move toward understanding and away from a new, sharper race divide."
- What is Liberation Theology? by Tony Campolo
- (Newsweek/Washington Post: On Faith, Apr. 30, 2008) "It is the simple belief that in the struggles of poor and oppressed people against their powerful and rich oppressors, God sides with the oppressed against the oppressors."
- The Black Church as Prophet, Patriot, by James Forbes
- (Newsweek/Washington Post: On Faith, Apr. 30, 2008) "The words and the dramatic declarations of judgment may be inflammatory and denunciatory but they come from a deep love for the people."
- Black Church Called to Lift Every Life, by Susan Sanders
- (Newsweek/Washington Post: On Faith, Apr. 29, 2008) "Historically, African American spirituality is rooted and grounded in the belief that God hears the prayers of the oppressed."
- Black Church Always in Crisis Mode, by Frederick D. Haynes, III
- (Newsweek/Washington Post: On Faith, Apr. 28, 2008) "The prophetic witness of the black church is a response to this nation's briar patch, where slavery remains our unconfessed sin and race is our unresolved issue."
- Tradition of Black Truth-Tellers, by Otis Moss, III
- (Winston-Salem Chronicle, Apr. 23, 2008) Trinity UCC's pastor says, "What an incredible gift to give our children, if we choose to be bi-cultural Americans instead of ethno-centrists locked in our own limited worldview of humanity."
- Black Preaching's Tradition of Proclaiming Truth as They See It, by King T. Hayes
- (Hartford Courant, Apr. 20, 2008) The Rev. King T. Hayes, retired pastor of Shiloh Baptist Church in Hartford, describes the broad freedom of the pulpit in African-American church tradition.
- A Hartford Take On Obama's Former Pastor, by Susan Campbell
- (Hartford Courant, Apr. 16, 2008) Campbell quotes retired the Rev. James L. Kidd and the Rev. Gary Miller, retired and current senior pastors at Asylum Hill Congregational Church UCC in Hartford, who both affirm the ministry of Jeremiah Wright.
- Praying Through Pain with Members of Obama's Church, by Grace Housholder
- (Fort Wayne Daily News, Apr. 15, 2008) A local news columnist describes a visit to worship at Trinity UCC with the words, "wonderful Christian fellowship."
- The Other Side of the Mountaintop: 40 years after his death, MLK's rough edges re-examined, by Kevin Merida
- (The Washington Post, echoed on MSNBC, Apr. 4, 2008) Considers Martin Luther King, Jr. more broadly than the contemporary icon, including his passion, anger, and harsh critiques.
- Race and Politics: Black in America, from Anderson Cooper 360 Degrees
- (CNN, Apr. 3, 2008) UCC General Minister and President John Thomas is among those interviewed.
- Hard Words, by John M. Buchanan
- (The Christian Century, Apr. 22, 2008) The Century's editor on Jeremiah Wright: "I wish Jeremiah Wright had made his point about America's failings without saying 'God damn America.' But not for a moment do I wish he had been less prophetic. The great biblical prophets did and said outrageous, controversial things, which consistently got them in trouble and occasionally landed them in jail."
- Project Trinity: the perilous mission of Obama's church, by Kelefah Sanneh
- (The New Yorker, Apr. 7, 2008) "Jeremiah Wright situates his ministry in a lineage of black liberation and deliverance."
- On Issues of Race
- (Northern Mississippi Daily Journal, Apr. 5, 2008) This editorial endorses the UCC call for an honest and respectful conversation about race.
- Bill Moyers Reflects on his Interview with Rev. Jeremiah Wright (Bill Moyers' Journal, May 2, 2008)
- "'Everyone sees what's happening through the lens of their own experience.' That's how people see Jeremiah Wright."
- King's Last March, by Kate Ellis and Stephen Smith (American RadioWorks, March, 2008)
- A one-hour audio documentary about the work of Martin Luther King, Jr. in the last year of his life, when his stand against the war in Vietnam and his renewed efforts against poverty set him against the Johnson Administration and much of American popular sentiment.
- Fresh Air from WHYY: Interviews with James Cone and Dwight Hopkins on Black Liberation Theology (National Public Radio, Mar. 31, 2008)
- Fresh Air host Terry Gross interviews the intellectual founder of black liberation theology and a distinguished theologian at the University of Chicago Divinity School.
- Lies of Omission: Rev. Wright in Context (Daily Kos, Mar. 20, 2008)
- Expanded clips from the two most controversial sermons; the source for the Tribune transcripts above.
- The Language You Cry In: Story of a Mende Song (1 hour documentary)
- This is a documentary from the late 90s illustrating some of the African cultural influences retained among modern African-Americans. The video is available through inter-library loan in Connecticut.
- The Color of Fear (90 minute film)
- A film about the pain and anguish that racism has caused in the lives of eight North American men of Asian, European, Latino, and African descent.
- Fulfilling the Dream: Confronting the Challenge of Racism, by Ronice Branding (St. Louis, Chalice Press), 1998.
- Never Say Nigger Again!: An Antiracism Guide for White Liberals, by M. Garlinda Burton (Winston-Derek Publishers), 1994.
- Black Womanist Ethics, by Katie Cannon (Atlanta, Scholars Press), 1988.
- A Black Theology of Liberation, by James H. Cone (Maryknoll, NY, Orbis Books), 1986
- Complicity: How the North Promoted, Prolonged, and Profited from Slavery, by Anne Farrow, Joel Lang, and Jenifer Frank (New York, Ballantine Books), 2005.
- Disrupting White Supremacy From Within: White People on What We Need to Do, edited by Jennifer Harvey, Karin A. Case and Robin Hawley Gorsline (Cleveland, Pilgrim Press), 2004.
- Dismantling Privilege: An Ethics of Accountability, by Mary Elizabeth Hobgood (Cleveland, Pilgrim Press), 2000.
- Teaching Community: A Pedagogy of Hope, by bell hooks (New York, Routledge), 2003.
- Where We Stand: Class Matters, by bell hooks (New York, Routledge), 2000.
- The Black Church in the African American Experience, by C. Eric Lincoln and Lawrence H. Mamiya (Durham, Duke University Press), 1990.
- Come Sunday: The Liturgy of Zion, by William B. McClain (Nashville, Abingdon Press), 1990.
- Black Preaching: The Recovery of a Powerful Art, by Henry H. Mitchell (Nashville, Abingdon Press), 1990.
- Hearing and Knowing: Theological Reflections on Christianity in Africa, by Mercy Amba Oduyoye (Maryknoll, NY, Orbis Books), 1986.
- Preaching Justice: Ethnic and Cultural Perspectives, edited by Christine Marie Smith (Cleveland, United Church Press), 1998.
Let's talk about race.
On Sunday, May 18, many pastors across our church, the United Church of Christ, will be preaching on race in hopes of beginning a sacred conversation, a dialogue that is needed in our pews, our homes and the hallways of power across our country.
Sacred conversations are never easy, especially when honest talk confront our nation's painful past and speaks directly to the injustices of the present day. Yet sacred conversations can, and often do, honor the value of diverse life experiences, requiring an openness to hear each others' viewpoints.
Over the coming weeks, as we prepare to speak from our pulpits and organize follow-up conversations with our 1.2-million members, we pray this effort will be an important step toward a holy and reconciling dialogue within our church and for our nation.
We invite all communities of faith to join with us. No matter who you are or where you are on life's journey, your voice is needed--now.
God is still speaking,
