We are sending this for prayer, sharing, listening, comment and speaking out
Yesterday in our Church at Home service, we celebrated the Holy Spirit’s outpouring at Pentecost. The words of the prophet Joel are familiar to us but I do not know a time, when Joel’s words have stirred in me such sadness and guilt that I have stood in the way of others receiving God’s favour. For if I receive the blessing of Pentecost for myself and my household, I cannot ignore the challenge of Pentecost to share this blessing.
The anger and grief that is currently being poured out on the doorstep of the White House in the wake of George Floyd’s murder, is no localized phenomenon, it belongs at my doorstep too. For as a white woman, I am part of the status quo and have benefited from the status quo that has crushed and exploited those for whom the Spirit is poured out.
I am not asking you to condone violence, I’m asking you to stop and listen to our brothers and sisters. Not to judge or condemn but to openly listen. We keep being told our return to a new normal is a great opportunity for changing our ways. Could we commit to be a returning church that has the courage to be held accountable and the grace to listen, even if it makes us uncomfortable? Can we make space in our ‘new normal’ for those with a lived experience of racial oppression to find their voice amongst us?
Shona Shaw
In our Church at Home we celebrated a lockdown Pentecost, this is somewhat ironic. It is more than ironic that as we know the Spirit to be the breath of God among us we hear the cry of George Floyd and others – “I can’t breathe”. Joel prophesied that the Spirit would be poured out on all, Acts told what happened and Amos spoke of justice flowing like a never-failing stream. The experiences of black people, and also of women in Pakistan/India, and of those suffering domestic violence show that we are not dealing with isolated incidents. I am also aware of the greater effect of Covid among BAME communities. I believe that if the breath and justice of the Spirit is for all it must be for these people.
I too feel sadness and guilt that I have been too passive and been content to speak for myself rather than listen to others. I have enjoyed my privilege and so distanced myself from the pain. What is going on is stopping the flow of the Spirit.
In the coming days we may see headlines about violence in protest marches and the excesses of looting. I too do not condone these but to dwell on them is to focus on symptoms and not causes and to allow ourselves to become distracted from bringing real change for the better.
In making a statement, the first thing we can do is listen to the voices of those who experience and then move to be a community together and find a shared voice. As a white man I am ready to listen and through this act in a new way. I hope that our church will come out of lockdown to discover ways of being church. I hope that we will have the courage to adapt, the kindness to try out, the humility to lay things down and the imagination to experiment. Stories of oppression are interconnected but must be told specifically. I hope we will start listening with intent and I think it begins with matters of racial injustice that have been highlighted recently.
I believe that this is an integral part of the move of the Spirit and a witness to the risen Jesus Christ.
Graham Brownlee