Sharing Our Stories

From the mouths of  infants and  nursing children, you established strength (power, might, boldness) for the sake of your being distressed (being bound up), for the ceasing of the adversary (or, the hate) and the avenging of oneself (Psalm 8:2, Karen Jenkins Translation, KJT).

The national and global protests concerning racism has created an opportunity. Now is the time for those who have experienced hatred because of their ethnic origin to share their personal experiences so that the broader public may be aware of its prevalence and, perhaps, be moved to being agents of healing and transformation not only in our work places, churches, government institutions, private institutions, organizations, businesses, and academic settings, but also in biased approaches within systems, structures, and procedures. However, many people of color have been apprehensive about sharing their experiences of racism for a variety of reasons.

Do we create safe places for people of color to share their stories?

Sarah Adams, an eight-grader at East High School speaks at MLK park during BLM rally in Rochester NY, 6/6/20. Photo credit: Jamie Germano, Rocheseter D&C

Many blacks have remained silent concerning racism. Some fear that if they speak up about discrimination or injustice that there may be backlash in the form of losing their employment or leadership positions that they struggled to achieve. They might also fear being ostracized from important groups that have the potential to advance their upward social mobility. And they might fear being labeled as a troublemaker.

Some blacks have also feared speaking about their experiences of racism because of the inablity of others to see it. Some blacks have been told by others that it is unlikely that whatever he or she may have experienced was racism, that what they perecieved were ratially motivated micro-aggressions were not acts of discrimination, hatred, or hostility, and that they were jumping to the wrong conclusions. Furthermore, some blacks may be reluctant to share their stories because of fear of invoking more hatred, aggression, or unjust treatment towards themselves. In sum, many people of color may fear speaking up because of the harm that it may cause them and their families if they do. So, they may stifle their objections, observations, and opinions (including their theological and political beliefs) in favor of not wanting to add undue hardship to their lives by arousing the anger and contempt of those who have contrary worldviews. However, in our present time, with new platforms in public spaces where stories may be shared and people of color may have thier voices heard, we are breaking the silence.

Rochester, NY- photo credit: Jamie Germano, D&C

Liberty Pole in downtown Rochester, 6/6/20 -Photo Credit: Jamie Germano

What feelings stir within when people of color voice their protests about perceived racial injustices?

To everything is an appointed time, to everything is a longing under the heavens (Ecc 3:1, KJT). Because of the public platforms, those who are supportive and eager to listen and make necessary attitude and behavioral changes, and those who are bravely sharing their pain and their protest, now is the appointed time for all people of all races to protest racism and racial inequalities in our nation and in our world. We, as a people, long for something more under the heavens. We long for a new era of social reconciliation whereby we do not regress to former unjust patterns of living that benefits the few, but where we move forward to a new age of solidarity that empowers us all. By taking progressive steps forward to make reparations for the racial trauma that many people have suffered, whether personally or vicariously, our children may follow our example and have a more humane and compassionate world in which to mature and thrive.

“Protestors are silent for 8:46 on Park Ave near Berekley Street” in Rochester, NY, 6/7/20. Photo credit: Jamie Germano, D&C

To my black brothers and sisters, I pose a challenge considering Psalm 8:2 (#Psalm8Challenge). As people made in God’s image, be emboldened for the sake of your distress. For too long, many black voices have been bound. But God is saying, “Now is the time for unbinding, now is the time to come out!” By sharing our stories, and by all people groups working together for the common good, hatred may cease. And when hatred ceases, we may enjoy a just, equitable world where all people enjoy the goodness and beauty of God’s creation.

What hinders you from sharing your story? #Psalm8Challenge

Written by Rev. Karen Jenkins

Peace be with You!

Images of the looting in Rochester, NY on 5/31/20 that began after a peaceful protest led by BLM are a symptom of our brokenness

Peace be with You

¹⁹ When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” ²⁰ After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. ²¹ Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” ²² When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. ²³ If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.” (John 20:19-23, NRSV)

Jesus, a minority within the bounds of the Roman empire, after being unjustly killed by officers appears to his followers. He appears amid their fear of suffering the same brutal fate as Jesus.  But to spur them towards action where they might disbar the evil and injustices prevalent in society, Jesus dispels fear by introducing peace. Why? Because without peace, fear may not be dismantled. And because fear may cause paralysis, trigger animosity and hostility, prompt violent protests, and inhibit God’s purpose for a renewed creation and humanity governed by justice, harmony, and love, fear must be dismantled. Fear must be dismantled if people are to participate in the restoration of the world by being mobilized for action to be harbingers of peace in an often disoriented, disinterested, and disinvested world.

 Jesus’ proclamation of peace is a display of what he desires for humanity. Because he desires peace, his mission is to impart peace not only in the form of quelling hatred, violence, and senseless killings, but also by offering security, safety, prosperity, and salvation for those who are oppressed, are traumatized by past and current events, and who are unsure of how to move forward in life because of the barriers put in place that diminishes their humanity, impedes their freedom, restricts their opportunities, and subsequently seeks to darken their futures.

Jesus reveals that he has power to deliver such peace. For though he suffered brutality and death while in police custody, he was enabled by the power of God to rise above such trauma and victimization of his personhood to a new life engendered by peace. And that new life is embodied in a wounded soul, with scars that serve as reminders of his past. And it is those reminders that strengthen his resolve to participate in God’s mission for humanity to live in harmony with God and all others.

Jesus arose to a new life that is not dominated by the power of darkness or death but that is emboldened by the power of God and the life that is found in God’s Spirit. And he offers that to us today as we stand in the wake of mass demonstrations of anguish and grief over the nation’s history of the inhumane treatment of people of color.

The Minneapolis cop who kneeled on George Floyd’s neck until he died on 5/25/20- Memorial Day

Image of Breonna Taylor, an EMT worker in Louisville, KY, who was shot eight times by police officers who entered her home on 3/13/20

What is God saying to us today?  God is asking us to not ignore the pain and suffering of black communities. God is showing us that the roots of racism grows deep within the fabric of our culture and our nation and is expressed in a range from subtle to blatantly overt forms of discrimination. God is also making us aware of how trauma may be passed on to burden successive generations, and that the side effects of slavery and oppression may manifest themselves in various ways. But God is also revealing to us much more. In God’s light, humanity’s darkness is revealed. What do we see when we look at ourselves? What emotions are stirring within our hearts? When have we experienced such feelings in the past?

Healing and restoration need to occur not only for those who have been made to feel inferior, are harrassed because of the color of the skin, and have had their voices ignored, but also for those who are complacent or who are calloused. Many people are calloused towards racism and its harmful effects, the senseless murders and unjust treatment of black men and women, the barricades erected to hinder the upward social mobility of people of color, and the struggles that many blacks face in America. They may also be calloused towards the anger, anxieties, and other hardships and pain that many blacks in local communities often face in fighting to survive in places that are indifferent to their struggles. God wants us to be aware of that.

God is speaking. God’s purpose for humanity is for us to stand in solidarity with one another, not in opposition, thus propagating disunity, dis-ease, and strife. God wants peace to be with us. And by that peace, we may recongnize the image of God in all people and treat them with dignity and compassion.

Peaceful protest march in Rochester, NY 5/30/20 (before the violence)

What is God saying to us today? God is saying that all is not well with my soul. My soul is hurting. It weeps for my people that I created to display my glory in. And the answer to the healing of humanity resides in Jesus’ offering of peace which is epitomized in people living new lives in harmony with one another that do not ignore the wounds of the past. For it is because of those wounds that humankind may be determined to transform the world into a place where all lives may be illuminated by the truth, and justice may “roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream” (Amos 5:24, NRSV).

On this day of Pentecost, will we hear what the Spirit of God is saying or will God’s voice be unintelligble to us?

Written by Rev. Karen Jenkins