A Word from Pastor Nathan

Special Offering

Dear Friends:

Washington Avenue Christian Church has incredible outreach. Through our monthly special offerings, we are making a transforming difference from our doorsteps to the ends of the earth. For September, our special offering is for Reconciliation Ministry.

When the Administrative Committee and the General Board approved this initiative, I was 18, and I would have naively said that we lived in a post-racist society. However, I’ve learned that racist structures and systems still exist and persist, and they perpetuate ideologies of supremacy and privilege. Reflecting on the ways such structures have benefitted me and how my embedded assumptions and fears have their roots in racism has been disquieting. I fear that in 2019—now more than twice my age in 1998—that racism is on the rise in our country.

The Reconciliation Ministry of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) has as its tenets:

  • Racism is a spiritual and theological dilemma as well as a social evil;
  • Racist practice exists throughout the life of the church and needs to be addressed. The church needs to get its own “house” in order even as it looks toward being a transformational agent in the larger world;
  • Racism is a systemic problem with historical root causes;
  • Racism can be defined in many ways. This initiative is based on an analysis of racism that understands racism to be a combination of racial prejudice and institutional and/or economic power; and,
  • When conceived, the initiative was based on a vision for the church as a place “where brothers and sisters of all races, languages, and cultures will grow towards God’s glorious realm, where all have a place at the table and none shall be turned away.”

When we participate in this initiative through our giving and practices of justice- and peace-making, we are working with the whole Church toward the elimination of racism which exists in all manifestations of the church. We discern the presence and nature of racism as sin, develop strategies to eradicate it, and work toward racial reconciliation.

On October 30, 9 a.m.-5 p.m., Heights Christian Church in Shaker Heights is hosting an anti-racism/pro-reconciliation training event. Our offering supports this training. If you are interested in attending, please be in touch with me.

Peace abundant,