How does one invite another in the most personal and persuasive way to a discussion on a topic about which most of us do not want to talk? This is my dilemma.

Tomorrow evening at 7:00 pm (October 9, 2019, in the Community Room), we begin our exploration of racism. I don’t know what this will be like. We might well be venturing into some very uncharted territory. What I do know is that this is work that I cannot do alone – I need others like yourselves to help me learn, grow, and address an issue in which I feel very inept. I have a feeling that this will be an experience that has the power to be both liberating and terrifying all at the same time. This is not about being “nice” or being “politically correct”, instead it is about unconscious cultural scripts that we internalize simply by living in racially structured societies. It is about a “social and systemic reality, the sedimentation of a centuries-long effort to structure every aspect of life according to the logic of white supremacy.” As Christians, this is discipleship work -trying to understand how such structures seep into our inner lives and distort our perceptions and judgments. In short, it is about seeing; moving from blindness to sight (Mark 8:22ff). It will be a challenge but I have always known you to be a daring people. I hope to see you tomorrow evening.