I am deeply saddened and angered by the events of this past weekend in Charlotteseville Va. I am not surprised by white supremacists in America – it has been part of my calling to work on anti-racism initiatives and training for nearly 30 years. I grew up in the South when segregation was till practiced, so racism in America is not new or surprising. It is not in some far off past. We have seen this level of acceptance of racism before; we have seen the openness with which it is displayed before.

The evil that believes any of God’s children are more valuable or deserve a larger share of the world has never been eradicated. And, I firmly believe, the call of all Christians is to stand against it.

Anyone who benefits from the systemic oppression of people of color which has resulted in unequal access to power, success, education and elected representation is complicit in that evil. It isn’t a comfortable thought.

And anyone who benefits from evil has a call from God to resist it, to dismantle its systems, to break its power, and to work for the freedom of those who are oppressed by it.

The evil of racism both creates fear and is the result of fear. We have been given the power to rise above fear and work on God’s behalf to change the world.

For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands, for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.
2 Timothy 1:6-7

–The Rev. Rebecca Black