Q and A 2.0
For the Next 72 hours ( Sorry for the two emails)
Team:
For the next 72 hours I will try to answer as many questions as I can about my new book “United States of Grace”, my ministry with Jubilee Collective, or my interfaith work here in the #PNW with the BIPOC Faith Leaders Council for #BlackLives.
The last being something I rarely talk about publicly since it is such a sacred space.
Just comment below and I’ll answer your question when I randomly log in. Also my editor Rose will not be cleaning up comments so good luck understanding my answers. :)
PS: Sorry for the two emails I sent a draft by accident! Sorry y’all.
(realized I posted this in the wrong thread- my b!)
Hi Rev! Excited that you're doing this Q&A!
I've noticed that the ELCA publishes a lot of statements "condemning racism" in our nation and world. But, I have seen very little published by the ELCA that acknowledges our OWN racism. The closest thing I've found is a short section in the 2019 apology that talks about Lutherans' complicity in slavery. As you call for in your writing, the ELCA must be honest about who we are as the whitest denomination in America and make reparations to Black people in America in order to confess the horrors of our own sins of racism and white supremacy. But unless I'm missing something, it seems like the ELCA is lacking on that whole honesty part.
I'm sure that there are tons of stories and documents of the ELCA's racism and participation in white supremacy, but I wonder if it would be helpful for these things to be more public and accessible (especially if the ELCA isn't going to come out and say it). I'm wondering- do you know of any gaps in the current research on the history of racism/white supremacy in Lutheranism or the ELCA? Would furthering this research be helpful to your project? I'm in divinity school now and have the time and resources to devote to this sort of project!
Hello. Does the Lutheran world view and theology still give you any gifts or kinds of strengthening? I mean things like Lutheran theology and Biblical interpretation (if there is a distinctively Lutheran approach to the Bible). Your comment about Luther and grace expressed a certain disaffection. Is it still positive for you?