In a moment when our Asian siblings are being harassed, when people of color are disproportionately being affected by COVID-19, when white
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I did not grow up Presbyterian, and I can’t identify as a ‘cradle’ or ‘prenatal’ Presbyterian, or any of the ways that I have heard born-and-bred Presbyterians describe themselves in order to firmly establish their Presbyterian street cred. No, as my
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In Zora Neale Hurston’s 1928 essay, “,” she writes about her lived experience as a black woman in the South. She talks about her racial awakening, describing it as “the day I become colored.” She uses many metaphors to talk about race, including calling herself a “brown paper bag” alongside other bags
MoreA Dialogue Between Two Generations of Black Presbyterians This article originally appeared in the May/June 2002 issue of Church & Society (Vol. 92, No. 5) “The Hope and Challenge of Reconciliation Today”. Rev. Curtis A. Jones interviewed Dr. Gayraud S. Wilmore reflecting on the Confession of 1967, 35 years after
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An Opening Editorial Yes, you read the title right. I am racist, and so is the majority-white denomination I serve, the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). I’m not particularly happy to admit this about myself or my Church. True, I have never engaged in explicitly hateful actions based on a person’s race
MoreAn Ecumenical Vision for the 21st Century “In Christ God was reconciling the world…and entrusting the message of reconciliation to us.” –II Corinthians 5:19 You won’t be surprised that a professor of Ecumenical Studies has chosen to write on the gift of the ecumenical movement for our common Christian pilgrimage.
MoreI was teaching youth and college Sunday school a few years ago, and we were discussing the Apostles’ Creed, particularly the part where Christians confess belief in the ‘holy and catholic church’. One student spoke up and asked what the Creed meant by ‘catholic’. Without much thought, I rattled off
MoreThe Missio dei. In Latin, it means, simply, ‘mission of God.’ The term itself is perhaps symbolic of the way we have grown in our understanding of the relationship between mission, God, and God’s church. As a concept, missio dei has gained popularity and influence throughout the twentieth and twenty-first
MoreSermon delivered by Rev. Dr. J. Herbert Nelson, II on Tuesday, June 30, 2015 on the occasion of remembering the Charleston 9 and embracing the issue of race in the United States. The worship service was held in the United Methodist Building on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. Originally published
MoreThe Situation in Richmond, CA Testimony by Andrés Soto before the PC(USA) Drug Policy Task Force, February 14, 2015. Watch testimony in minutes 13:45 – 25:00 of this video of Day 2 of the Richmond Hearings. I grew up here in this town, and I see my life as a
MoreTestimony by Dorsey Nunn before the PC(USA) Drug Policy Task Force, February 14, 2015. Watch testimony in minutes 20:50 – 31:20 of this video of Day 1 of the Richmond Hearings. I guess I’m the bad guy. I was raised in a crack house. I’ve been at this fight for
MoreAffirming Diversity and Life-Sustaining Relationships The following article was originally published in the May/June 1994 edition of Church & Society. Download a PDF of the original here. Listen to the words of Elizabeth, an enslaved woman and minister, born in Maryland in 1766: “I betook myself to prayer and in
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