ELCA NEWS SERVICE

November 1, 2007  

ELCA Presiding Bishop Addresses Church on Racial Justice
07-178-JB

     CHICAGO (ELCA) -- In a letter to the Evangelical Lutheran
Church in America (ELCA), the Rev. Mark S. Hanson, ELCA presiding
bishop, said he is "deeply troubled" by the number of incidents
in the past three years that involved symbols and acts of racial
hatred. The presiding bishop expressed "grave concern" for the
"spiritual crisis concerning race relations" in the United
States.
     Hanson called on ELCA members to take specific actions to
address the "sin of racism."  He also referred members to the
ELCA social statement, "Freed in Christ: Race, Ethnicity and
Culture," adopted by the 1993 ELCA Churchwide Assembly.
     The presiding bishop's letter was released on Nov.1, the
Christian observance of All Saints Day.  Hanson expressed thanks
for the lives of Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King Jr. and "the
thousands of others, including many clergy and lay leaders of
this church" who experienced risk and sacrifice because of their
belief that all people are made in God's image.
     Here is the text of the presiding bishop's letter:

November 1, 2007
                                
Dear sisters and brothers in Christ:

On this All Saints Day we remember the saints who have gone
before us and give thanks for their lives of faith and
commitment.  I particularly ask you to join me in giving thanks
for all whose faith has led them to take a stand on civil rights,
including Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King, Jr., and the thousands
of others, including many clergy and lay leaders in this church,
who risked and sacrificed because of their belief that all people
are made in God's image.

As presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
(ELCA), I am deeply troubled by the number of incidents in the
last three years that involve symbols and acts of racial hatred.
I write to you today with grave concern about the "spiritual
crisis concerning race relations" that we continue to experience
in this country.  This spiritual crisis affects both church and
society and calls us to respond with the urgency and strength as
those who have gone before us.  As the ELCA social statement,
"Freed in Christ: Race, Ethnicity, and Culture," says, "We are
torn between becoming the people God calls us to be and remaining
the people we are, barricaded behind old walls of hostility."

Today, public displays of nooses as well as acts of kidnapping,
torture, and sexual assault are replacing burning crosses as
symbols of racial hatred.  Nooses are intentional symbols of
racial hatred tied to slavery and lynching during the "Jim Crow"
(i.e., racial segregation) era of this country's history.  Use of
these racial symbols has increased in recent months, intended to
create fear and intimidation in communities of African Descent.
In addition, racial profiling by law enforcement continues.  A
particular concern is "DWB" (driving while Black or Brown) and
"DWM" (driving while Muslim), shorthand phrases for police stops
of people of color.

Through that social statement, this church calls upon its leaders
to "name the sin of racism and lead us in our repentance of it"
and to "persevere in their challenge to [this church] to be in
mission and ministry in a multicultural society." It also calls
this church to a time of public deliberation, asking all of us
to:
+ Model an honest engagement with issues of race, ethnicity, and
culture, by being a community of mutual conversation, mutual
correction, and mutual consolation;
+ Encourage and participate in the education of young people,
[so] they might be better equipped to live in a multicultural
society; and
+ Bring together parties in conflict, creating space for
deliberation.

This social statement also calls this church to public witness
and says, "Participation in public life is essential to doing
justice and undoing injustice.  Only when people affected by
racial and ethnic division speak publicly of painful realities,
does there emerge the possibility of justice for everyone."

On this All Saints Day, I call on members of this church of all
races to remember and give thanks for those who have gone before
us, especially those who have suffered from racism and injustice,
and to stand in opposition to this evil spreading across our
country. Let us together:
+ Pray for racial reconciliation and peace;
+ Encourage all ELCA congregations to be in conversation with
each other about issues of racial justice and reconciliation;
+ Engage, listen to, learn from, and build relationships with
people of color--those most affected--in our communities;
+ Speak out against hate crimes and other racial injustices in
our communities and work to strengthen legislation that supports
and protects civil rights; and
+ Amplify our voices by signing up for ELCA E-Advocacy to receive
information about opportunities to speak.

On this All Saints Day, "Therefore, we confess our sinfulness.
Because we are sinners as well as saints, we rebuild walls broken
down by Christ. We fall back into enslaving patterns of
injustice. We betray the truth that sets us free. Because we are
saints as well as sinners, we reach for the freedom that is ours
in Christ."

Mark S. Hanson
Presiding Bishop
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     The ELCA social statement, "Freed in
Christ: Race, Ethnicity and Culture," is at
http://www.ELCA.org/socialstatements/freedinchrist/
on the ELCA Web site.

     Messages issued by the presiding bishop are at
http://www.ELCA.org/bishop/messages/allmessages.html
on the ELCA Web site.

For information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or [log in to unmask]
http://www.elca.org/news
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