wfn.org | Churches pledge to combat racism

[NewsDesk <NewsDesk@UMCOM.UMC.ORG>]

January 25, 1999	Contact: Linda Bloom*(212) 870-3803*New York
10-21-71B{040}

NOTE:  This may be used as a sidebar with UMNS story #039.

ST. LOUIS (UMNS) - As they seek unity, members of the Consultation on Church
Union (COCU) have pledged to work together to end racism.

In fact, unity and racism cannot co-exist. In her address during the
consultation's 18th plenary Jan. 20-24, Vivian Robinson, COCU president
since 1988 and a member of the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church, call
racism "one of the greatest church-dividing issues." 

The document calling for COCU to continue as Churches Uniting in Christ
named the privilege accorded to those with white skin as "the most divisive
issue" it faces.

"It is difficult for African-American churches, congregations and members to
be fully convinced of the sincerity of the call of their European American
counterparts for unity as equals if the latter are not willing to actively
struggle to dismantle the obstacles to social, political and economic
equality presented by system white skin color privilege and to give up some
of the perquisites they enjoy under it," the plenary document declared.

The call to action on racism adopted by delegates noted that "from the
perspective of the Christian gospel whose mandate is reconciliation of all
God's children, racism is demonic and sinful. It denies the image of God
given each person in creation and in the new creation each person enters by
baptism."

Together, the churches were urged to:

*	Continue to make a compelling theological case against racism;
*	Share information on current programs within communions to combat
racism;
*	Claim Martin Luther King Jr. Day observances and similar occasions
for dialogue leading to systemic change;
*	Take the discipline of social ethics seriously;
*	Insure that worship is an intentional witness against racism;
*	Maintain a strong program of Christian education on the dynamics of
racism and the 
     demands of racial justice;
*	Engage in rigorous institutional self-examinations, searching for
racism and setting goals for measuring progress;
*	Renew the churches' commitment to the struggle for equal human
rights through advocacy;
*	Develop resources addressing issues related to racism and responding
to new immigrant and cultural groups.

The churches approved the idea of a joint study analyzing the workings and
effects of system white privilege.

The issue of churches considering actions of "compensatory justice" also was
raised. "Predominately white churches are beneficiaries of capital formation
that is often based upon wealth that is the direct result of centuries of
slave labor and other forms of economic exploitation based upon race," the
plenary document stated.

"The resulting injustices call for compensatory justice, which includes
sharing assets for the empowerment of African American communities and
institutions for their continuing contribution to the church and society."

Byrd Bonner, a United Methodist Commission on Christian Unity member from
San Antonio, Texas, who attended part of the plenary, considers racism and
issues of social justice to be catalysts "for our moving the ecumenical
movement into the 21st century."

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