Dear Union Community,

This last Sunday, Ashish Joy preached a powerful word from Matthew 8, looking at the social, economic, and community response to Jesus as he met two men possessed by demons. (It was excellent, you should watch it if you missed it!) What one could imagine being a time of rejoicing as these two men are healed from demon-possession and the demons were banished into a legion of pigs, we see rather that the community wants Jesus to leave. In a moment when Christ brings healing and wholeness to these two men, the community wants nothing of it. Why?

Ashish shared a very personal reflection on his experience with race, being East Indian living in the United States and confronting his own journey acknowledging the lived experience of Black Americans, as well as the deeply embedded caste system in India. It was a deeply personal reflection, acknowledging privilege and complicity and systems at play, and an invitation for all of us to reflect about our own histories, both individually but also communally as the church. In this quote from John M. Perkins in "Dream with Me: Race, Love, and the Struggle We Must Win," we can see how the (white) church has responded very similarly to the community in Matthew 8, and John M. Perkins is calling us out.

“I am all for churches being a part of the nonviolent marches and protests that have happened in the wake of violent killings, but these protests happen only after a tragic event has taken place.
I want the church to be what prevents these acts from ever happening.
I want the church to be the community that is so dedicated to loving our neighbors, to caring for the poor and neglected, and to living out true reconciliation that these killings do not even take place.”

It is not only enough to weep and ask why after tragedy has occurred. Christ is calling us, the church, to step up, to participate in dismantling these systems that bring oppression and death and poverty and neglect, and actively be a part of the change that will bring wholeness and healing. The church has to acknowledge our complicity and silence of the past. We are a reflection of that community who declined to be involved in healing and wholeness in Matthew 8. But we are invited to participate in the hard work of dismantling systems of oppression, beginning today and continuing past this moment of anguish. This is our God-given mission as defined in Micah 6:8, to "seek justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with our God." Let's continue to strive to be the church that Christ has called us to be.

Do you have a reflection you want to share? Please feel free to respond and share! We would love to hear what you have been processing, and how you have been learning and responding in this time.

Below are some ways that you can continue this work in your life. Please reach out to this community if you have questions, need resources, or just want to talk.

Pressing towards justice.

LEARN

Diversify your newsfeed. Add the South Sound Emerald Weekly Round-Up to your news cycle to read news and stories of those living in the South end of Seattle. Sign up here to receive a weekly round-up in your inbox.
Read this Seattle Times article about a local Grays Harbor farmer, and notice that he mentions the same theme that John M. Perkins does in the quote above.
Listen to this podcast by Scene on Radio "The Land That Never Has Been Yet", and take a second look at the history you were taught. (This is the same podcast that did the excellent series "Seeing White", another great tool for this work.)
Read books by authors of color. This is a great tool for adults, but for children as well, to read stories about characters that are not predominantly white.
Pick a book, article or podcast from this extensive list of Healthcare Equity and Anti-Racism resources created by the University of Washington.
This article was passed along by Mary Ehrlich, and she says this:
"I think it would be great to share this article. It caught my attention after Ashish’s sermon."
Thank you for continuing on this journey! Please continue to share resources and reflections.
https://www.nytimes.com/issue/magazine/2020/07/02/the-7520-issue

ADVOCATE

Sign this petition, Justice for Elijah McClain, and make phone calls to Colorado officials to demand these officers are held accountable.
Register with the Washington State Poor People's Campaign to know what to advocate for and when to mobilize.

ACT

Continue to make lunches for SYM & ICS, roll hundreds burritos on Saturdays, and deliver meals to Compass House. Contact Adrienne or Renee for safe distance service opportunities.
Help distribute boxes of fresh produce from Food Lifeline to families in need. Looking for Friday morning/afternoon pickups and deliveries. Contact Adrienne if you can help!
Join your school's PTA! Make a commitment to join your school's PTA this year, and be present at meetings to ask questions that center the kids and families of color in your community and further the demands of the NAACP Youth Council.
Donate! Make a contribution to your local food bank as their shelves are decimated by the ongoing needs related to the pandemic.
Provide monthly financial support to CHOOSE 180 or DADs in the work they are doing to support communities who continue to experience disproportionately the negative effects of COVID.

Truth & Justice Studio MISSION STATEMENT :: Truth & Justice creates space to educate and mobilize people by lifting up marginalized voices as catalyst for social change. We are a community within Union Church in Seattle, WA.