Ephesians 2:12-13
2 Remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. 13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.
This is where we all come from and this is where we operate from. Strangers brought near together by the blood of Christ.
Our Vestry and I had a discussion two weeks ago not on politics, policing, riots or legislations, but on our parish family, our relationships with each other and how it relates to the gospel of Jesus Christ.
So whether you are from Texas, Nigeria, or El Salvador, whatever your skin color, we want to be instruments of reconciliation. That alone is our goal.
And that comes about in our community through love and by listening. In that spirit, and in the spirit of the Apostle Paul’s call to us in 2nd Corinthians, I share with you this letter from the Vestry.
2 Corinthians 5:18-20a
18 All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; 19 that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. 20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us.
In Christ,
Alex Large
2 Remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. 13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.
This is where we all come from and this is where we operate from. Strangers brought near together by the blood of Christ.
Our Vestry and I had a discussion two weeks ago not on politics, policing, riots or legislations, but on our parish family, our relationships with each other and how it relates to the gospel of Jesus Christ.
So whether you are from Texas, Nigeria, or El Salvador, whatever your skin color, we want to be instruments of reconciliation. That alone is our goal.
And that comes about in our community through love and by listening. In that spirit, and in the spirit of the Apostle Paul’s call to us in 2nd Corinthians, I share with you this letter from the Vestry.
2 Corinthians 5:18-20a
18 All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; 19 that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. 20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us.
In Christ,
Alex Large
Dear Cothians
I pray that this note finds you in God’s grace during this trying time. Our society is facing many challenges that only our Lord Jesus Christ can get us through. My heart is broken as the racial discrimination that our African American brethren have been suffering under for hundreds of years has now become obvious and must be addressed. Karen and I grew up during the time of bussing school kids and with parents who were racist to varying degrees. We thought that we had turned out pretty well and that the country was integrated. A few years ago, we woke up and wondered how we could not have seen the racism that was all around us. I would say we were disappointed in ourselves, but we moved on in our comfortable lives.
The events of the last few years cumulating with the deaths of Mr. Floyd, Ms. Taylor, Mr. Arbery, the confrontation involving Mr. Cooper and others have forced us to reflect on what we are not doing. Even today I read that people are hanging nooses from trees. I do not think that Jesus is smiling over us right now. He will forgive us and bring us salvation, but I think He is calling us to action. He is calling us to understand the challenges that our black brethren have been experiencing in their day to day lives, which may not be as extreme as the occurrences of recent days, but the experiences have made them feel excluded and marginalized in this country.
In just the last two days I have had two personal events that I do not know how to respond to. A friend of forty years sent me, and 40 others, an email that was just a long list of memes that were subtly racist. How should I respond and make a difference? A neighbor brought up a case of a group of teenagers that were partying with excessively loud music (as teenagers will do) and that they were black, which had nothing to do with the situation. How do I respond and make a difference? When I hear or see a friend whose skin in different color is being followed while shopping by a store employee. How do I respond?
As we begin to learn how to respond, we also have to look inwards and ask ourselves if there are any unconscious biases that may influence the way we think of or relate to people of color. Are there verbal, behavioral or environmental communications that may be perceived as negative to a person of color even if unintentional or in “good sport”? Do we interact with a person of color in our day to day life in the same way we would interact with a person of the same race as we are? We should ask ourselves how this interaction may be playing out in workplaces and throughout society. If our interactions were being recorded, would we act differently? When we find ourselves in positions of authority and leadership, what impact do we make regarding diversity and inclusion? Do we only acknowledge, hire or promote those that are the same color as we are? Have we ever invited people of color to our homes? Do we teach our children what inclusivity means by first being inclusive ourselves? We need to challenge ourselves to recognize any unconscious bias we may have and actively work to correct them otherwise things may not change.
Becca Rivas sent a note to parents of young children with information to help them have conversations. Blaine Pittman sent a note to the youth with a resource to help the youth move forward. Ucheoma and Ikhide Longe, who also helped me with this letter, along with Mark Gehringer searched additional resources which are all listed below. We will also create a page on our web pages where these resources, Diocesan resources and other communications will be posted.
The Vestry is committed to leading Holy Apostles to play an active role in making our society a better place where all people are treated equally no matter their race or background. We believe this starts with following Jesus who reached out and treated all people as his own whether it was a Samaritan, a Roman commander, a criminal, a leper, or a Jewish priest. We need to educate ourselves in understanding how races other than our own see things. To this objective we will be putting together a facilitated session on understanding each other as soon as the COVID crisis allows us.
In the meantime, I have two asks of the entire congregation. I encourage you to have a conversation with a person of color; you will be surprised what you can learn by just listening. I ask you to pray that our hearts and minds are open to understanding each other. That we are given the courage to speak up for equality and the wisdom to understand how our words, symbols and actions impact and hurt others. May God’s grace and peace be with each of us at Holy Apostles and may the Holy Spirit equip us with the tools to bring the world to a place closer to God’s word.
With Christ’s love on behalf of the Vestry
Doug
I pray that this note finds you in God’s grace during this trying time. Our society is facing many challenges that only our Lord Jesus Christ can get us through. My heart is broken as the racial discrimination that our African American brethren have been suffering under for hundreds of years has now become obvious and must be addressed. Karen and I grew up during the time of bussing school kids and with parents who were racist to varying degrees. We thought that we had turned out pretty well and that the country was integrated. A few years ago, we woke up and wondered how we could not have seen the racism that was all around us. I would say we were disappointed in ourselves, but we moved on in our comfortable lives.
The events of the last few years cumulating with the deaths of Mr. Floyd, Ms. Taylor, Mr. Arbery, the confrontation involving Mr. Cooper and others have forced us to reflect on what we are not doing. Even today I read that people are hanging nooses from trees. I do not think that Jesus is smiling over us right now. He will forgive us and bring us salvation, but I think He is calling us to action. He is calling us to understand the challenges that our black brethren have been experiencing in their day to day lives, which may not be as extreme as the occurrences of recent days, but the experiences have made them feel excluded and marginalized in this country.
In just the last two days I have had two personal events that I do not know how to respond to. A friend of forty years sent me, and 40 others, an email that was just a long list of memes that were subtly racist. How should I respond and make a difference? A neighbor brought up a case of a group of teenagers that were partying with excessively loud music (as teenagers will do) and that they were black, which had nothing to do with the situation. How do I respond and make a difference? When I hear or see a friend whose skin in different color is being followed while shopping by a store employee. How do I respond?
As we begin to learn how to respond, we also have to look inwards and ask ourselves if there are any unconscious biases that may influence the way we think of or relate to people of color. Are there verbal, behavioral or environmental communications that may be perceived as negative to a person of color even if unintentional or in “good sport”? Do we interact with a person of color in our day to day life in the same way we would interact with a person of the same race as we are? We should ask ourselves how this interaction may be playing out in workplaces and throughout society. If our interactions were being recorded, would we act differently? When we find ourselves in positions of authority and leadership, what impact do we make regarding diversity and inclusion? Do we only acknowledge, hire or promote those that are the same color as we are? Have we ever invited people of color to our homes? Do we teach our children what inclusivity means by first being inclusive ourselves? We need to challenge ourselves to recognize any unconscious bias we may have and actively work to correct them otherwise things may not change.
Becca Rivas sent a note to parents of young children with information to help them have conversations. Blaine Pittman sent a note to the youth with a resource to help the youth move forward. Ucheoma and Ikhide Longe, who also helped me with this letter, along with Mark Gehringer searched additional resources which are all listed below. We will also create a page on our web pages where these resources, Diocesan resources and other communications will be posted.
The Vestry is committed to leading Holy Apostles to play an active role in making our society a better place where all people are treated equally no matter their race or background. We believe this starts with following Jesus who reached out and treated all people as his own whether it was a Samaritan, a Roman commander, a criminal, a leper, or a Jewish priest. We need to educate ourselves in understanding how races other than our own see things. To this objective we will be putting together a facilitated session on understanding each other as soon as the COVID crisis allows us.
In the meantime, I have two asks of the entire congregation. I encourage you to have a conversation with a person of color; you will be surprised what you can learn by just listening. I ask you to pray that our hearts and minds are open to understanding each other. That we are given the courage to speak up for equality and the wisdom to understand how our words, symbols and actions impact and hurt others. May God’s grace and peace be with each of us at Holy Apostles and may the Holy Spirit equip us with the tools to bring the world to a place closer to God’s word.
With Christ’s love on behalf of the Vestry
Doug
Resources from the Diocese
Resources for Families
Blogs:
•Parent Cue: Raising Kids Who Will Initiate Racial Equality
•Raising Kids Who Embrace Those Who are Different
•Talking Race with Young Children
•Raising Kids Who Will Initiate Racial Equality
•How To Talk To Kids About The Stories We Tell Ourselves
Books:
•“The Gospel in Color”
•“God’s Very Good Idea”
•“When God Made You”
•“Little Leaders: Bold Women in Black History”
•“Ruby Bridges”
Movies:
•Ruby Bridges
•Just Mercy: A Story of Justice & Redemption
•Zootopia
Toys/Activities for Kids:
•People Colors Crayon Pack
•Melissa & Doug Children of the World Floor Puzzle
•The Big Book of Faces Coloring Book
•I Never Forget a Face Memory Game
•Parent Cue: Raising Kids Who Will Initiate Racial Equality
•Raising Kids Who Embrace Those Who are Different
•Talking Race with Young Children
•Raising Kids Who Will Initiate Racial Equality
•How To Talk To Kids About The Stories We Tell Ourselves
Books:
•“The Gospel in Color”
•“God’s Very Good Idea”
•“When God Made You”
•“Little Leaders: Bold Women in Black History”
•“Ruby Bridges”
Movies:
•Ruby Bridges
•Just Mercy: A Story of Justice & Redemption
•Zootopia
Toys/Activities for Kids:
•People Colors Crayon Pack
•Melissa & Doug Children of the World Floor Puzzle
•The Big Book of Faces Coloring Book
•I Never Forget a Face Memory Game
|
Church of the Holy Apostles
1225 West Grand Parkway South Katy, TX 77494 info@cotha.org • 281-392-3310 Service Times Sundays 8:00 and 10:30 Office Hours Monday – Thursday 9 A.M. - 5 P.M. |