Notes From the Road to Racial Righteousness
“Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.” (Psalm 51:10)
Early on at City Church Boston, God began to develop a vision in the heart of the leadership for a multicultural church. As the ministry grew, they began to see people from different cultures join the body – from both international and domestically diverse backgrounds. Before long, through conversation and community-building, their stories were brought to the forefront and seeds began to take root for work that would tie directly into the issues of social justice.
It’s been a process.
One family, in particular, influenced the initial steps City Church took to address issues of race and reconciliation. A family new to the ministry joined City Church and the grandmother had marched with Martin Luther King during the Civil Rights Movement. She’d protested segregation in the South as a teenager, which resulted in her spending a night in jail. City Church hosted a discussion for Martin Luther King Day during which the family shared their experiences.
Soon after came COVID and the murder of George Floyd. National attention was placed on issues of race relations yet again. Pastor David W. Hill saw people in his church being greatly affected by what was happening around them and what they were seeing nationally.
“We wanted to know how to respond as a church and we thought the best step was to listen to those who were being most affected. So, we gathered together some of our people of color and asked them what they wanted - they preferred that we include the whole church, not just a part of it in the conversation.” said David.
In response to the national dialogue on racism caused by the tragic deaths of people of color, City Church launched a Community Group series called ‘A Journey Toward Racial Righteousness.’ For the Fall 2020-Spring 2021 semesters, small groups took a look at biblical issues related to race while reading the book, "Be the Bridge" by Natasha Morrison.
Four groups journeyed through the topics together for 9 months. In the small groups, some of the conversations were hard and David admitted that he made mistakes and has had to confess where he was ignorant in order to move forward. It was the first time City Church had ever embarked on anything like that. People were able to listen, share their stores and ultimately become closer as a body.
David said in reflection, “We could say we wanted to be multicultural but you can be multiracial and not be multicultural. Everyone has a voice and has to be heard/influence the culture of the church. We have to listen to people's stories and allow those stories to influence the culture and the actions we take as a church.”
This work is tough, but it is ongoing.
We have to acknowledge as a church that racism is embedded in American culture. Everyone is in a different place as far as their knowledge, understanding and awareness of that fact. David feels that he himself as well as other white churchgoers are often not as aware.
This year, City Church attempted for the first time to celebrate Juneteenth in a way that honored the liberation of slaves but also gave room for lament. For the summer of 2021, the church now asks “how do we live this out in tangible ways?”
As a smaller church, it’s been an effort of trial and error. There have been lots of teaching and directing the people to the Word of God. There have also been questions that needed to be asked and hard truths that needed to be unfolded.
“We got the question a lot, ‘Is our church becoming political?’” David mused, having to search the scriptures for clear direction. “We’re not trying to be political at all! We are trying to acknowledge the sin of racism and the sin of slavery. The Bible gives us the tools to address these issues. We are connected and see ourselves as ONE both in the past and the present. We have to show that its not a political issue, but it’s an issue that impacts our brothers and sisters.”
First: Welcoming guests at City Church Second: JTRR Community Group gathering Last: Juneteenth Remembrance service
On June 14th 2020, the church participated in the ‘Boston Pray: Seeking Unity and Justice’ event. Looking forward, City Church Boston has two goals:
To commit to continuing the conversations. The Community Group study on racial righteousness has ended, but the work cannot.
Working to identify one area that the church can commit to addressing the unacceptable realities in their city in a tangible way
Longer term, City Church is striving to have a more diverse leadership and have a multicultural leadership team.
David offers this encouragement for pastors:
First, educate yourself on the issue. The book we used was the most accessible for those who aren't as familiar with the issues, but its also very biblical. David says, “Be the Bridge” is a challenging book.
Humbly talk to the people of color in your church and listen to what they have to say on these issues. I was somewhat aware, but to talk to them personally was key. I didn't realize the level of impact everything was having. This is huge for them so it should be huge for us because we are a church family.
Please pray for City Church Boston that …
God would help us act on what we learned in our Journey Toward Racial Righteousness and connect us to opportunities to address through service inequities that exist in our city
God would add new members to our church this summer and fall who want to serve and be a part of our vision and mission to reach Boston and the nations.
“I would love to see Confluence have a greater voice on this issue - to be deeply involved in issues of social justice, race, and meeting the needs of urban centers. Let’s continue to raise awareness among our churches on these issues,” said Pastor David W. Hill.
