We make bold strides
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| Photo of Rev. Freeman Palmer speaking at the 59th Annual Meeting of the Central Atlantic Conference of the United Church of Christ. Minister Kecia Munroe, Associate Moderator, is seated to his left. |
Last month I attended the Central Atlantic Conference meeting in person at the Evangelical Reformed UCC in Frederick, MD. It was my last board of directors meeting as vice president. It was good to be with friends and colleagues in person and yet I felt the familiar tug that I experience every Sunday in that I miss those who attend online. I miss the feeling of us all together in one room, but I’m still learning that, like the kin-dom of God, rooms of people can exist across time and space and that it is ableist of me to expect all of us to be physically present. And so I must make the effort to be spiritually present to those who attend online.
It was not my first time in the worship space at ERUCC, but it had been at least 5 or 6 years since the last time I had been there. As I listened to Freeman give his State of the Conference address and talk about the very real threats of Christian nationalism and White supremacy, I was struck by the symbols and imagery in the chancel area behind him. To his left was the American flag and to his right, the Christian flag. Above him, situated between two Roman columns, was the beautifully crafted mosaic of Christ the King—Christ depicted as White and blond-haired. Contrasted with an address given by an African American conference minister who is same gender loving.
To me it was a perfect snapshot of the United Church of Christ and most progressive mainline churches. Our conference brought a resolution before General Synod this summer, for the Church to become a White supremacy-free zone. A resource devised by conference staff members is currently being tested for congregations to use to work toward becoming anti-racist. The 59th CAC annual meeting took place in an Open and Affirming church with an extravagant welcome. We make bold strides to move forward even as we hold onto symbols and imagery (and resources) of Christendom long since passed. We are getting in our own way.
Christian nationalism and White supremacy are not only threats to the Church, they are baked into the Church. The spiritual conundrum of the progressive church is that we want the world to change and we want to keep what we have. Racism and nationalism are more about self-interest than they are about hate. Hate is what helps keep self-interest in power. We now have a Speaker of the House who is a Christian nationalist. The Church has bigger fish to fry than to trying to decide whether or not it’s time to break up with White Jesus.
It was not my first time in the worship space at ERUCC, but it had been at least 5 or 6 years since the last time I had been there. As I listened to Freeman give his State of the Conference address and talk about the very real threats of Christian nationalism and White supremacy, I was struck by the symbols and imagery in the chancel area behind him. To his left was the American flag and to his right, the Christian flag. Above him, situated between two Roman columns, was the beautifully crafted mosaic of Christ the King—Christ depicted as White and blond-haired. Contrasted with an address given by an African American conference minister who is same gender loving.
To me it was a perfect snapshot of the United Church of Christ and most progressive mainline churches. Our conference brought a resolution before General Synod this summer, for the Church to become a White supremacy-free zone. A resource devised by conference staff members is currently being tested for congregations to use to work toward becoming anti-racist. The 59th CAC annual meeting took place in an Open and Affirming church with an extravagant welcome. We make bold strides to move forward even as we hold onto symbols and imagery (and resources) of Christendom long since passed. We are getting in our own way.
Christian nationalism and White supremacy are not only threats to the Church, they are baked into the Church. The spiritual conundrum of the progressive church is that we want the world to change and we want to keep what we have. Racism and nationalism are more about self-interest than they are about hate. Hate is what helps keep self-interest in power. We now have a Speaker of the House who is a Christian nationalist. The Church has bigger fish to fry than to trying to decide whether or not it’s time to break up with White Jesus.
(This was the reflection for the CAC Happenings, Nov. 9, 2023)
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