Racial Justice Ministry
Upcoming Events
At 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.
Racial Justice Ministry seeks to be a ministry avenue for Grace Commons Church mission and vision to love Boulder and beyond in matters of racial justice.
For more information on how to get involved with the Racial Justice Ministry (RJM), please contact Jim Carpenter. For additional questions, please contact Carl Hofmann, Senior Associate Pastor of Engagement & Congregational Care.
Since the summer of 2020, a group of Covenant partners began to take a deeper look into the historic and divisive realities that are based on racial and ethnic tensions. Today, RJM invites anyone on this journey to join us in this endeavor. As an initial step toward this end, the team recommends these resources:
Statements and Articles from Prominent Christian Organizations
- ECO Statement on Racial Reconciliation
- National Association of Evangelicals Statement and Articles List
Pray
- 21-Day Ignatian Racial Equity Challenge: Learn, Pray and Act for Racial Justice
- 31 Prayers and Reflections on Racial Justice
Media
- Fuller Seminary Missiology lecture Race, Cultural Identity and Reconciliation video
- Bible Project Justice Defined video, Justice Series podcasts
- Tony Evans Embracing Oneness, Part 1 & Part 2
- Holy Post with Phil Vischer Race in America, Part 1 & Part 2
- Veritas Forum Do we need God for Racial Justice?
Further Reading
Non-Fiction
- Why We Can’t Wait by Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., 1963
- The Cross and the Lynching Tree by Rev. James Cone, 2013
- Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson, 2015
- Reading While Black: African American Biblical Interpretation as an Exercise in Hope by Rev. Dr. Esau McCaulley, 2020
- Resource list from InterVarsity Press books on Justice, Race and Inequality
With Study Guide questions
- The Myth of Equality: Uncovering the Roots of Injustice and Privilege by Ken Wytsma, 2017
- The Color of Compromise: The Truth about the American Church’s Complicity in Racism by Jemar Tisby, 2020
- Compassion and Conviction: The AND Campaign’s Guide to Faithful Civic Engagement by Justin Giboney, Michael Wear & Chris Butler, 2020
Places to Get Involved
- Be a Mentor with Kids Hope, USA in Columbine Elementary School, Boulder, CO. Our local elementary school needs people willing to build positive, caring, one-on-one relationships with students, to walk alongside them as friends and cheerleaders and we at Grace Commons, in conjunction with Kids Hope USA, have committed to do just that.
- Impact on Education for Boulder Valley schools. Committed to equitable future in public education across schools in order to equalize opportunity, bolster academic success, and galvanize community engagement to create lasting change. Through our investments, we address systemic barriers that impact students based on socioeconomic status, race, gender, class and other marginalized identities.
- 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.
- AND(&) Campaign. On mission to educate and organize Christians for civic and cultural engagement based on biblical values and social justice that results in better representation, more just and compassionate policies, and a healthier political culture.
- Equal Justice Initiative, founded by Bryan Stephenson. A non-profit organization committed to ending mass incarceration and excessive punishment in the United States, to challenging racial and economic injustice, and to protecting basic human rights for the most vulnerable people in American society.
