We’ve had plenty of articles lately on Covid and how to take advantage of time with our kids so I wanted to take this week’s blog to focus on thinking about how we, as the church, can respond to racial violence. And how we can help our kids empathize, respond, and be a light of hope in the midst of the racial tensions that exist in our country right now. Wouldn’t it be beautiful if our church and our families were a catalyst for racial reconciliation and justice in our community. If you have not seen the video or read the accounts of this terrible event, it is haunting to watch men lie in wait for a man and kill him when he tries to get away. And then to remember this happened, along with the numerous injustices surrounding it, in our state, in a community not all that different from our own.

I know it is easy to respond to something like this by starting with our political viewpoint or a hot-take opinion we read or heard about it, but I would encourage you to use the links below to understand the fear and anger that this tragedy confirms for those who experience life in our country differently from you. And there are also a few articles on lament. Often, it feels like we don’t know what to do with the feelings that something like this starts within us. But the Bible gives us a guide to lament as a starting point. We’ve even seen examples of lament in our Bible reading over the last few weeks and these articles help us apply that practice.

For those of you who experience this fear and anger as people of color in our country, or as those who parent kids that are racial minorities, I hope reading and listening to these things will bring you comfort in the midst of your fears, and a way to express the emotions you feel in the moment. For those of you who don’t experience this reality on a regular basis, I hope this will help you love your neighbor by listening to and learning from your neighbor, from your brothers and sisters in Christ, who do experience it. You may not agree with everything that is written but the goal is not first to agree, but understand- and especially to understand those who we have been united to as God’s family, through the sacrifice of Jesus.

Besides the things below, I’ll remind you of two books that are great for helping you have these conversations with your kids.

God’s Very Good Idea: A True Story of God’s Delightfully Different Family by Trilia Newbell

God Made Me and You: Celebrating God’s Design for Ethnic Diversity by Shai Linne

How to Grieve Racial Violence through Lament

Click here to read the article by Mark Vroegop.

Lamenting the Death of Ahmaud Arbery

Click here to read the document from The Summit Church.

Ahmaud Arbery and the Trauma of Being a Black Runner

Click here to read the article by Dante Stewart.

‘Nickel Boys’ and the Double Victory of Love Over Racial Injustice

Click here to read the article by Rachel Gilson.

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