Mission Yearbook: Talking to kids about racism, injustice and the power of love

On April 28, in Rochester, Minnesota, a white woman named Shiloh Hendrix accused a 5-year-old Black boy of stealing something from her diaper bag. She shouted racial slurs at him, calling him the N-word. He also happens to be a child with autism. In defense of him, a man named Sharmake Omar took out his phone, pressed record and confronted the woman. The woman responded by shouting racial slurs at him.

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Nicole Doyley

Omar’s video went viral, and because Hendrix allegedly received death threats, someone set up a GiveSendGo campaign. To date, thousands of people from all over the country have donated more than $700,000 to Hendrix. So many donors used racial slurs and Nazi jargon in the comments of the campaign that it overwhelmed the profanity filter.

This story is disturbing on many levels, not the least of which is the fact that it is as old as the United States itself: white women accusing Black boys of nefarious deeds, which brings racism bubbling to the surface and sometimes results in threats of violence or actual violence (think Emmett Till).

The question is, how can parents help their kids make sense of such a confusing moral landscape, where racism is flaunted and bad behavior is rewarded?

Here are four suggestions to help you to talk to kids about disturbing stories such as this one:

• When they hear stories like the Rochester incident, start with the big picture. The Bible tells us that there are six things the Lord hates and one of them is “feet that run swiftly to evil” (Proverbs 6:18). God doesn’t want us to do evil and doesn’t want us to run to see it, either. Help your kids think about excellent and praiseworthy things by pointing out a beautiful sky, the kindness of a stranger or the beautiful music on the radio.
• This doesn’t mean that you should ignore realities like racism, though. Rather, teach your kids about race and racism even when they’re young. You can say things like, “Recently a lady was mean to a little boy because of the color of his skin. That was very wrong, and it made God very sad.” Whether your kids are white or kids of color, tell them that all people are created in God’s image, and those with dark skin bear God’s image just as much as those with light skin.
• Teach your kids that the root of racism is hate. Jesus teaches us that the second greatest command (after loving God) is loving neighbor, and our neighbor includes people of every race and ethnicity. You cannot love God and hate people.
• Teach them that part of living in a sinful world means that sometimes right and wrong get mixed up.  Sometimes sinful people will call bad behavior, like the behavior of Shiloh Hendrix, good, and they will even reward it rather than rewarding the brave action of a stranger trying to defend a child. Kids find it confusing when adults do this because they feel adults should know better. But the truth is, adults who are filled with hate do not know better. All we can do for them is pray that their lives will be transformed by God’s love.

There are many sad things about this story, including the fact that Hendrix shouted these slurs with her own young child on her hip.  Parents keep passing racism down to their kids. Perhaps tonight, with your kids, you can model love by praying for Shiloh Hendrix, that God’s transforming love will invade her life; for the little Black boy and his family, that God would heal them and that they would refuse to return evil for evil; and for Sharmake Omar, that God would protect him and draw him to God’s self.

In his sermon called “Loving Your Enemies,” the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said, “Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that.” Let’s teach that to our children.

Nicole Doyley is the author of “What about the Children?: Five Values for Multiracial Families,” published in February by Westminster John Knox Press. You can find her here.

Nicole Doyley, Special for Presbyterian News Service  (Click here to read original PNS Story)

Let us join in prayer for:

Cameron Stevens,  Mission Associate II, Constituency Relations, Presbyterian Disaster Assistance, Interim Unified Agency
Mindi Stivers, Financial Assistant, Presbyterian Women

Let us pray:

God of mercy, we are privileged to be called to join Christ in the world as we seek to do ministries of justice and kindness and bring glory to your name. Give us the courage to act boldly and let all that we do be conducted in a spirit of humility and love. In Christ’s name. Amen.

Today in the Mission Yearbook - Here’s how Presbyterians can preach about racism

Austin Seminary’s Carolyn Helsel works with Synod of the Covenant preachers during an online workshop

April 4, 2023

Dr. Carolyn B. Helsel

The Rev. Dr. Carolyn Helsel recently helped preachers in and around the Synod of the Covenant to think through preaching about racism in an era of critical race theory bans.

Helsel, Associate Professor in the Blair Monie Distinguished Chair of Homiletics at Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary, “literally wrote the book on the topic today,” according to the Synod of the Covenant’s executive, the Rev. Dr. Chip Hardwick. Helsel is the author of the 2018 book “Preaching About Racism: A Guide for Faith Leaders.” Her talk was part of Synod of the Covenant’s Equipping Preachers series, which is available to preachers living inside or outside the Synod of the Covenant — Michigan and most of Ohio.

Helsel briefly traced the history of the racial reckoning following the murder of George Floyd and others and the ensuing reactions. “People took to the streets to protest. They asked their churches to have more conversations,” Helsel said. “But others were interested in changing the subject,” focusing instead on “the dangers of having protesters in the streets. Black Lives Matter was portrayed as a terrorist organization” and the critical race theory label came into prominence on popular outlets, including Fox News. She also took attendees through a handful of CRT policy briefings posted by right-leaning think tanks.

Helsel bolstered her talk by discussing how her work in parish ministry and in the academy has focused attention on helping preachers think about preaching about racism. Years ago, while working at Princeton Theological Seminary, Helsel learned that “feelings of guilt and shame are not the end goal — it’s to be in relationship with people and be able to engage freely in conversations.”

She came to her present post in 2015 and wrote her first book, “Anxious to Talk About It: Helping White Christians Talk Faithfully About Racism,” following the 2016 election of Donald Trump as president. “I wrote it with the spirit of reaching out to family members who I knew voted for Trump,” she said. “His latent call for racist attitudes didn’t deter people from voting for him. I wanted to invite people in with the spirit of connection and empathy.”

Photo by Dawn McDonald via Unsplash

In neither book does Helsel discuss critical race theory, she noted. But asked to write a second edition of “Anxious to Talk About It,” Helsel set out to research what conservative commentators were saying about CRT.

When the video emerged of “Derek Chauvin on the neck of George Floyd and the rage people felt at seeing racism clearly visible, you’d think it would be helpful for Americans to come together and defeat racism wherever it rears its head,” Helsel said. “Instead, people responded strongly to diversity training. They were criticizing ways we are uncovering previously untold stories,” such as more widespread awareness of the 1921 Tulsa Massacre.

Evan as mass shootings continue to occur,  many preachers “fear being ‘political’” in the pulpit, Helsel said. “A lot of what we do and think about can be seen as political. I am sure you have been charged with just that by talking about things that relate to our common life together.”

But political terms like “oppression” are found many times in the Bible. “Way before [Karl] Marx was around, oppression was something that was being done to the Israelites,” Helsel said. “Racism doesn’t go away in the vacuum of our silence. It continues. It festers.”

Oppressed people “have turned to the Scriptures as long as they have been oppressed. They see Jesus Christ as one who redeems outcasts,” Helsel said. “God remembers those whom society has forgotten, and saves those others deem as lost.”

What can preachers do?

“Have conversations about racism,” she suggested.

Attend the meetings of local government boards and councils. “Listen for the comments being said in your own community. Is there already a desire to have conversations about diversity and racism? Support the leaders trying to do that,” Helsel said. “By your presence as a preacher, you’re making a difference by saying, ‘This matters to me as a person of faith and a faith leader, and this is what the gospel calls me to do.’”

Learn more about the Synod of the Covenant’s Equipping Preachers series here.

Mike Ferguson, Editor, Presbyterian News Service

Let us join in prayer for:

PC(USA) Agencies’ Staff
Cindy Yates, Maturities Specialist, Presbyterian Foundation
Andrew Yeager-Buckley, Project Manager, Administrative Services Group, A (Corp)

Let us pray

Gracious God, help those who are engaged with the work of providing for our communities. May they be strengthened to move forward and pass on the glories of the goodness they receive. Amen.

Today in the Mission Yearbook - Session stands up to racism

School board letter gets noticed

May 13, 2022

Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the German theologian who was hanged for his role in seeking to overthrow the Nazi regime during World War II, once said, “Not to speak is to speak.” Yet the fear of losing members and pledges keeps many congregations silent when it comes to championing the causes of God’s hurting children. The Presbyterian Church of Deep Run in Perkasie, Pennsylvania, is not one of those congregations.

Last September, the elders of session voted to embrace one of the three Matthew 25 calls to action — dismantling structural racism — in a bold way. They wrote a letter to the local school board conveying their concern with the board’s decision to disband a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) committee. Rather, an ad hoc committee would be formed to explore if diversity was an issue in the predominantly white community. For the Rev. Dr. Kristopher D. Schondelmeyer, that “if” was unsettling. He shared his concern with his session during his pastor’s report. “I wanted to let my elders know that, as a parent, I was probably going to do something,” said Schondelmeyer. But when the elders responded with “What can we do as a church?” the pastor embraced the opportunity.

“We began talking about how we committed to dismantling systemic racism as a Matthew 25 church and that what we were seeing in our community was racism on full display,” said Schondelmeyer.

It was decided to write a carefully crafted letter to the school board, one that would hopefully begin what Schondelmeyer calls a “compassionate conversation.” The letter not only addressed the “embedded biases” but shared with the school board the church’s Matthew 25 commitment to work for racial justice. In addition to the school board letter, an op-ed piece was sent to the local paper.

Not everyone was thrilled with the church’s public statements. Within the congregation and without, the pastor received negative feedback. “Even the community’s ecumenical clergy group felt that the Presbyterian Church of Deep Run’s letters were too forward,” said Schondelmeyer.

Still, the positive outweighed the negative. The letters led to the church’s adult education offering a community discussion on race. More than 25 people attended, said Schondelmeyer. “I began hearing from others outside of the church, many thanking us for opening a space to have these talks. One person even thanked me for making it easier to talk about race,” he said.

As the Presbyterian Church of Deep Run moves forward as a Matthew 25 congregation, it is learning valuable lessons along the way. The congregation has discovered that the way to congregational vitality — another focus of the Matthew 25 vision — is often found in taking risks. Since the letters addressing structural racism within its community, the church has welcomed several new families, all under the age of 35. “Half of those who have recently joined us said they have come because of our church being active in public life,” said Schondelmeyer.

Donna Frischknecht Jackson, Editor, Presbyterians Today

Let us join in prayer for:

PC(USA) Agencies’ Staff
Yvette Russell, Vice President, Customer Engagement, Board of Pensions
Alicia Samuels, Vice President of eCommerce & Marketing & Flyaway Books Editorial, Presbyterian Publishing Corporation

Let us pray

God, tend to your seedbeds wherever you have planted them. When the wind blows, allow the plants to spread the goodness of your work in this world. Bring all your people and their worlds into your harvest. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Today in the Mission Yearbook - What prevents your organization from being antiracist?

 

UKirk Collegiate Ministries wrestles with the question during antiracism training

May 11, 2021

In an effort to recruit students last year, Shaniya Auxier, at right, is pictured in front of the Pres House at the University of Wisconsin. (Contributed photo)

As the digital national “101 Racism & Organizing Training” event for UKirk Collegiate Ministries began, Shaniya Auxier admits she was “a little bit hesitant.”

The multiracial student leader of the Pres House at the University of Wisconsin was concerned about how the dynamic between co-trainers Sarah Dunne Pickrell and Dachia Busch would play out. But by the end of the training, Auxier left with a good feeling.

“They did a great job working together,” she said. “I related to what Busch said about how institutional racism exists on our campuses.”

The antiracism training event came together after many campus ministers told UKirk executive director Gini Norris-Lane that in light of George Floyd’s murder and the killing of Breonna Taylor, they — and many students — wanted to speak out against racism and white supremacy.

When the Office of Christian Formation heard their desires, associate coordinator Stephanie Fritz helped UKirk, a member of the Christian Formation Collective, by providing funding for the event. Norris said the office also them helped plan and organize the training and develop campus minister cohorts — one of which is working on dismantling systemic racism.

As co-trainers for the event, Pickrell and Busch are part of a cohort of about 20 racism trainers from The Open Table, a worshiping community in Kansas City, Missouri. The two were paired to work with UKirk because of the training experience they have around what UKirk wanted and needed.

As an educator, Busch said it’s important to her that real authentic dialogue happens during training. That includes being able talk about things that are not commonly talked about in mixed-race groups or in professional spaces around race. It can be challenging for white people to hear messages about race, she said, especially when the message is from people of color.

“This is more than just training for me. It’s a calling,” Busch said. “I have a husband, a father, a brother and uncles who any day could become the next dead victim on the local news due to the ‘everyday’ of racism.”

Initially, Pickrell, who is doing antiracism training work with Heartland Presbytery, pursued racial justice work because she wanted to see systemic change. But now that she’s developed deep relationships with people of color, she realizes how personal it is for her too.

“I see how racism and white supremacy shows up, how it keeps people from getting close,” she said. “And I see how it has damaged my own life.”

Nearly 50 students and campus ministers from 27 universities in the UKirk network participated in the event. Several said it was great to connect with one another in small groups and to address together the question from the co-trainers: “What prevents you as an organization, or your group, from being antiracist?”

The Rev. Amy Klinkovsky, campus minister and director of United Campus Ministry in Aggieland, said the race training will help her work with students for positive change at Texas A&M University.

Nii Addo Abrahams, associate director of campus ministry at the Pres House, said on the surface, the university in Madison, Wisconsin, is located in a nice progressive community. But by digging below the surface, Abrahams said, one will find deeply entrenched racial disparity around imprisonment and the policing of young Black kids.

As a 26-year-old Black man who doesn’t want to have to worry that if he looks at someone the wrong way or runs a stop sign that it might be his last day—leading a predominantly white campus ministry energizes him. Aware that many students may have never had a relationship with anyone who wasn’t white, Abrahams tries to help them make connections to how harmful racism is to their own growth and faith journeys.

“Most college students are in the most diverse community they’ll ever be a part of,” he said. “We want them to become antiracist here so they’re antiracist in the communities they become a part of as they move into the work force.”

Paul Seebeck, Communications Strategist, Presbyterian Mission Agency

Let us join in prayer for: 

PC(USA) Agencies’ Staff
Kevin Keaton, Board of Pensions
Andy Keeney, Presbyterian Foundation

Let us pray:

Gracious God, you have taught us to celebrate with those who are celebrating and to cry with those who are crying. May our eyes be open to see and distinguish between the two. Keep us mindful of all those who need your Spirit shining through us as much as they may need our monies and our labors. Amen.

Today in the Mission Yearbook - Prayer vigil serves as on-ramp for Christians on a journey of discernment

Louisville nonprofits host interfaith event to help dismantle structural racism

November 28, 2020

Chandra Irvin of Interfaith Paths to Peace opens a prayer vigil held at a Louisville park June 7. (Photo by Mark Hebert)

Count on a former architect to see the flaws in existing structures and work tirelessly and faithfully on ways to redesign them.

Such was the compelling draw for the Rev. Dwain Lee, pastor of Springdale Presbyterian Church, when an invitation to endorse an interfaith prayer vigil in Louisville’s Central Park came across his virtual desk.

“This was one of those once-in-a-generation moments where people across a wide variety of faith traditions could converge around this one topic, dismantling structural racism, on which we all agree,” said Lee, who operated his own architectural firm for 20 years before pursuing a call to ordained ministry. “We have to get a handle on racism and white supremacy.”

The June 7 event, which was hosted by two local nonprofit organizations, Interfaith Paths to Peace and Sowers of Justice Network, was organized to seek “racial justice for our city and a rededication of our faith values to work for a more just society,” especially in the wake of the recent killings in Louisville of Breonna Taylor by police and David McAtee by the Kentucky National Guard.

Although the vigil’s organizers had originally planned to lead the attendees around the park, stopping periodically to meditate and pray, because attendance at the event far exceeded the organizers’ expectations, everyone instead stood in place.

At one point, participants recalled the May 25 killing of George Floyd in excruciating detail.

“Perhaps the most powerful part of the gathering was the moment of silence for the length of time that George Floyd was being suffocated,” Lee said. “During that entire time, just imagining Floyd in agony — gasping, begging to breathe, during that entire time — was gut-wrenching. In the church, we often think about time in terms of hundreds, thousands of years; and we think about the kin-dom of God spanning the ages. At the vigil, I was reminded that eternity could be eight minutes and 46 seconds.”

Lee, who said that he has felt for many years “a particular draw to social justice issues,” also knew that not everyone in the 275-member congregation was in the same place.

“Springdale is like any other Presbyterian church,” he said. “There is a broad spectrum of where folks are in their ability to discuss racism and white privilege. Knowing that this was a faith-based event — and knowing that many people are on the same page and understand the issues, while others are in a different place — made this a good on-ramp for people in that latter stage of discernment.”

Although Lee’s interest in inclusiveness in both church and society emerged from his own particularity as a member of the LGBTQ+ community, it extends to advocating for inclusivity across a broad spectrum of issues.

“It is personally important to me — and not just me — if I am a person in ministry to find an appropriate way to speak to the congregation in such a way that they are challenged without being threatened or terrified,” he said.

Since the prayer vigil, Lee has been working with the church’s Mission Committee and its session to build on the momentum of the prayer vigil by offering a variety of congregational activities, including a  conversation around the documentary, “Race: The Power of an Illusion.” He hopes that such opportunities for study and dialogue will lay the groundwork for “more involvement in concrete things.” Springdale already accepted the PC(USA)’s Matthew 25 invitation.

“There are a few things we can do,” he said. “We can provide water and power bars and other supplies to demonstrators. We can show up to keep this moving forward.”

 Emily Enders Odom, Communications Specialist, Presbyterian Mission Agency

Let us join in prayer for: 

PC(USA) Agencies’ Staff
Doug Tilton, Presbyterian Mission Agency
Mason Todd, Office of the General Assembly

Amazing God, surprise us with new possibilities we deem impossible, and remind us that what is possible is limited only by your power. As we journey into the future, help us to discover that we are truly better together. Amen.

Today in the Mission Yearbook - Church exhibit reveals America’s racist past and present

Proves to be an effective conversation starter

May 28, 2020

Lake Burien Presbyterian Church has become known as the church in the Burien, Wash., community that is not afraid to tackle — and talk about — racism. Last fall, the church held an exhibit, “In Our Shoes,” which traced slavery and racism in America. The exhibit attracted local organizations and schools. Courtesy of Lake Burien Presbyterian Church

Jackie Muchiri and her son Jordan, members of Lake Burien Presbyterian Church in Burien, Washington, were facing an uncertain future after receiving an eviction notice due to the sale of her apartment building. For the church’s leadership, Muchiri’s situation was one more reminder that the congregation needed to be at the forefront for a change in policies in its community.

The epiphany has resulted in Lake Burien Presbyterian becoming known as a place where conversations surrounding injustices like rental housing abuses can happen. It is also becoming known as the church in the greater Seattle area where tackling larger issues, such as unfair practices, injustices and racism, is encouraged.

The Rev. Tali Hairston, one of the worshiping pastors at Lake Burien, credits senior pastor the Rev. Lina Thompson for the direction the church has taken.

“We’ve had real hard conversations. We’ve developed a Justice League group, which is a group of folks who are white, black, Asian, Pacific Islander and Hispanic who just want to understand how God sees the world outside of racism and white supremacy,” Hairston said. “It’s a big step for many in the congregation, but we are continuing to learn how to live the gospel faithfully.”

Part of that education included 35 people from the congregation and Lake Burien community participating last year in anti-racism training led by “Pivot” — the church’s young adult ministry.

The training, held over the course of six months, built awareness about historic racism. It culminated in a trip last summer that included stops in Montgomery, Alabama; Memphis, Tennessee; and Ferguson, Missouri — and focused on the civil rights movement and the voices of African American women.

Hairston said that there were “messy, hard, ugly, beautiful, anointed and holy” moments for everyone on the trip.

Upon returning to Lake Burien, the group knew it needed to unpack what it had experienced. It did so by creating an exhibit called “In Our Shoes.”

Located in the entryway of the church, the exhibit ran from September to October and traced the history of African American life in America from the middle passage and enslavement till today. It is estimated that more than 800 people, including people from the neighborhood, community organizations and schools, have experienced “In Our Shoes.”

“We did it as a part of our own journey to continue our own healing as a congregation, both individually and corporately, and to bring those from our community into the conversation,” Hairston said, adding that Seattle and its neighboring communities are a lot like other regions in the United States in that the condition of African American communities, graduation rates, housing and wealth disparity are everyday problems that many times go unnoticed.

These injustices have not gone unnoticed by the Seattle Presbytery, Hairston says, and the presbytery is taking steps to address these situations.

A study is underway that focuses on the communities that surround churches and the health of those churches. The data is being compared to that of other Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) congregations as well as other denominations.

“Some of the things we’re finding is that both the shifts in demographics and shifts in culture are particularly acute for Presbyterian congregations,” Hairston, who doubles as the presbytery’s director of community organizing, advocacy and development, said of the preliminary findings. “And we need to find out why that is. A place like Seattle is technologically innovative but yet the church itself is struggling to innovate with changes in demographics and culture.”

Seattle Presbytery is also doing an assessment of its congregations so a strategy can be put in place to combat issues of equity and inclusion that are affecting the churches.

As for Lake Burien Presbyterian, Hairston said the congregation will continue being a place where tough conversations can take place.

“The door is open for us to continue to be the kind of congregation that just doesn’t meet on Sunday,” he said. “We’ve seen people who didn’t want to talk about issues of race, who didn’t know how to talk about issues of race, become involved deeply in conversations, in relationships, in small groups and prayer circles with people they know they would never be in conversations with anyplace else around these issues.”

 Mike Givler, Communications Coordinator for the Synod of the Trinity in Camp Hill, Pennsylvania

Let us join in prayer for: 

PC(USA) Agencies’ Staff
Jeff Dorris, Administrative Services Group (A Corp)
Amy Driscoll, Presbyterian Mission Agency

Let us pray:

Almighty God, we give you thanks today for opportunities you give us to build better relationships, do justice and be witnesses of the reconciling love we have known through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.