The following statement was unanimously approved by the Session of the Westminster Presbyterian Church on June 14, 2020.
Inherent in the psalmist’s cry “how long Lord?” is the accompanying lament – “too long.” Too long have we endured the evils of racism and the sin of white supremacy. And too long have we watched silently, while others around us suffered at the hands of those who would deny the simple truth that black lives matter. Too long have we feared angering the powerful, avoided the conflict, sought to weather the storm around us by treading the surface of these waters.
Westminster Presbyterian Church has heard God’s call to do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with our Lord (Micah 6:8). We have heard Jesus’ call to deeply examine our complicity in the systems that perpetuate injustice (Matthew 21:12-13) and to seek out a new way of being (John 13:35).
As a community of many backgrounds, woven together in God’s love, we declare our solidarity with our black members and our broader black community. We are committed to making sure those words connect to our actions, in our own church community, in our city, and in the world.
We are here to listen and learn, reflect and pray, dialogue and build. We are here to get uncomfortable, unfiltered, and unsafe. How long? Until the work is done. How long? Until none live in fear. How long? Until we restore to all of God’s children the dignity they have been denied for so long. How long? However long it takes.
