In Matthew 18:15-20, Jesus calls us to be reconciled one to another. He goes a step further and promises that when two or more gather in his name, he will be there with us in the process. At Kingo we hear the call of reconciliation and commit to the difficult and necessary work of confronting systemic racism.
Kingo is part of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). The ELCA is the whitest denomination in the United States (Pew Research Center, July 2015). Jesus is calling us to be reconciled and promises to be present with us in the work of dismantling racism wherever it exists, even and especially in the church, in order to take actions toward racial equity and justice in the church and the community.
To begin the process of reconciliation will require that each of us:
- commit to the sacred work of listening
- give up the power and privilege of a dominant voice so that all may have power and privilege
- make reparations
- remember that repenting is a daily action for the 400+ years of slavery, racism, and systemic injustice
It will take longer than one sermon or a book study to change the demographics of the ELCA. It will take a lifetime of reprentance and reparations in order to be in the process of reconciliation. It will take very single one of us coming together to listen, to pray, to repent, and to repair.
This page will be updated regularly with resources and opportunities to listen, learn, and lean into antiracism work.
