You may recognize the title of this post. It is the theme of the New Hampshire Conference's upcoming Annual Meeting. Based on Paul's words in Ephesians 2:14, this theme speaks to the power of the gospel in making peace in places of hatred and hostility. When we selected the theme, we were thinking of the trouble in our cities after police shootings. Things we had imagined were in the past became present in our own time. I wondered, naively, whether the theme would still be timely in October--whether the racial divide in this country would still be evident this fall.
The murders of nine African-American Christians in Charleston, South Carolina last Wednesday are a source of deep sadness in my spirit. How can this be? I recall the stories of four little girls at the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham on September 15, 1963: Addie Mae Collins, Cynthia Wesley, Carole Robertson and Carol Denise McNair. Now, in our own time, there are nine more to add to the long list of those who were murdered within the sanctuary walls, as well as those killed in the streets of our cities, towns, and villages. I grieve the loss of life at Emanuel AME Church in Charleston last Wednesday. May we pray for the families of Cynthia Hurd, The Honorable Rev. Clementa Pinckney, Tywanza Sanders, The Rev. Sharonda Singleton, Myra Thompson, Ethel Lance, Susie Jackson, The Rev. Daniel Simmons Sr., and The Rev. DePayne Middleton-Doctor. May we pray that the evil of racism is purged from our hearts and our society. May we teach our children and youth to walk a path of peace and to join our Christ in breaking down the old, deadly walls of hate and hostility.
Many words and commentaries have been offered in recent days. I know how important it is to talk things out. I believe, however, that this is the time for reverence, self-examination, and silence as we face the reality of racism that divides our nation yet again. This is also the time for witness--as we saw yesterday as people came together to worship and hope at Emanuel AME Church just days after shootings in their sanctuary. Yes, this is the time to act in ways that reflect the reality that Christ is our peace. Christ is our hope. God's justice will prevail to transform hearts and lives, to heal a broken nation. We shall overcome . . . today.
"For Christ is our peace, in his flesh he has made both groups into one and has broken down the dividing wall, that is, the hostility between us."
May it be so . . . today!
Amen.
The murders of nine African-American Christians in Charleston, South Carolina last Wednesday are a source of deep sadness in my spirit. How can this be? I recall the stories of four little girls at the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham on September 15, 1963: Addie Mae Collins, Cynthia Wesley, Carole Robertson and Carol Denise McNair. Now, in our own time, there are nine more to add to the long list of those who were murdered within the sanctuary walls, as well as those killed in the streets of our cities, towns, and villages. I grieve the loss of life at Emanuel AME Church in Charleston last Wednesday. May we pray for the families of Cynthia Hurd, The Honorable Rev. Clementa Pinckney, Tywanza Sanders, The Rev. Sharonda Singleton, Myra Thompson, Ethel Lance, Susie Jackson, The Rev. Daniel Simmons Sr., and The Rev. DePayne Middleton-Doctor. May we pray that the evil of racism is purged from our hearts and our society. May we teach our children and youth to walk a path of peace and to join our Christ in breaking down the old, deadly walls of hate and hostility.
Many words and commentaries have been offered in recent days. I know how important it is to talk things out. I believe, however, that this is the time for reverence, self-examination, and silence as we face the reality of racism that divides our nation yet again. This is also the time for witness--as we saw yesterday as people came together to worship and hope at Emanuel AME Church just days after shootings in their sanctuary. Yes, this is the time to act in ways that reflect the reality that Christ is our peace. Christ is our hope. God's justice will prevail to transform hearts and lives, to heal a broken nation. We shall overcome . . . today.
"For Christ is our peace, in his flesh he has made both groups into one and has broken down the dividing wall, that is, the hostility between us."
May it be so . . . today!
Amen.
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