Anti-Racism Statement
As Grace Commons Church, we are deeply troubled by racial injustice in America today. We recognize we have much to learn when it comes to understanding the depth and breadth of this problem. We seek to commit ourselves to study, self-examination and appropriate action as expressions of our Christian discipleship. Since we know silence can be confused with intentional complicity, we want to be clear about race, racial injustice and racial reconciliation.
Racism (personal, corporate and systemic) is an affront to the gospel and to the goodness of God’s creation. The Book of James calls us to be doers of the Word. Love must be a noun and a verb. Personal and societal transformation will require a sustained commitment for years, not weeks. It will mean reading and learning, empathy and repentance, friendship, engagement and advocacy.
As an important but simple first step we have launched a Racial Justice Ministry to help us create some clear opportunities for engagement and advocacy.
For more information on how to get involved with the Racial Justice Ministry, please contact Jim Carpenter. For additional questions, please contact Ash McDonald, Interim Director of Discipleship & Community.
As an initial step toward this end, the Racial Justice Ministry team recommends these resources on race and justice:
Statements/Resources from fellow Christian Organizations
ECO Statement on Racial Reconciliation
National Association of Evangelicals Statement and Resource List
Highland Park Presbyterian Church Statement and Resource List
Be the Bridge
A non-profit organization whose vision is that people and organizations are aware and responding to the racial brokenness and systemic injustice in our world.
The Capetown Commitment
Section IIB. Building the peace of Christ in our divided and broken world. In October 2010, over 4,000 Christian leaders from 198 countries gathered in Cape Town, South Africa, to discuss critical issues of the time as they related to the church and evangelization. The Cape Town Commitment presents a statement of shared Biblical convictions, and calls Christians all over the world to action.
Equal Justice Initiative, founded by Bryan Stephenson
Christianity Today Articles on Anti-Racism
InterVarsity Press books on Justice, Race and Inequality
Fuller Seminary Statement and Podcast
Non-Fiction Books
Why We Can’t Wait by Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., 1963
The Myth of Equality: Uncovering the Roots of Injustice and Privilege by Ken Wytsma
Reading While Black: African American Biblical Interpretation as an Exercise in Hope by Rev. Dr. Esau McCaulley
