Race & Racism

The racist events in the USA culminating in the vicious death of George Floyd have not only revealed the bullying, fear and violence that black people often - and even increasingly – face, but also the underlying racism and prejudice that sit in our own culture and our own hearts. The bible tells us that God is actively opposed to injustice, exclusion and pain, and his people are always called to identify it, stand against it and work to rectify it. 

As a church we are therefore called to hear the cries of pain of our brothers and sisters, to listen, to learn and to seek to understand; and to humble ourselves as we acknowledge that our own blindness and lack of understanding makes us complicit in the covert - and therefore overt - racism that we see around us. We can all do this in prayer, self-reflection, in reading and listening to those who experience racism, and in pursuing a journey of learning together.

God raised up people like Moses and Saint Paul to live for justice, set captives free and shape a new community. Both these people learned to repent of their own wrong attitudes and live a life of humility so that the Kingdom of Heaven would be experienced here on earth. God calls all of us at Rising Brook, in each of our locations, to confess and repent of our own sin, to stand up for justice, and to actively work towards seeing our church become richer in diversity, celebrating cultural difference, lifting up the marginalised and expressing the kaleidoscopic glory of the Kingdom of God.

If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land. 2 Chronicles 7:14