Occasionally people have commented to me about what they have been learning in their workplaces regarding language that can inadvertently be harmful and racist. Most of us might not think, just for example, about how loaded “white” and “black” can be, especially if we are drawing from the Bible in equating white with clean from sin and black with full of sin. What does it mean to worship with language that does no racial harm and still re-tains the meaning and power of the scriptures? 

Because of this, I was struck by an article on racial healing in the church in the September 2010 issue of The Mennonite*. It included a chart with a continuum on becoming a trans-formed, inclusive church. The six stages of the chart are:   

Exclusive  : Enforces racist status quo;   

Passive  : Eurocentric and says, “We don’t have a problem”;   

Symbolic Change  : Sees itself as committed to inclusion and is unaware of habits of privilege and paternalism;   

Identity Change  : Awakening with an anti-racist identity;   

Structural Change  : Not satisfied with just being antiracist, but see benefits of broader racial and cultural diversity in ministry and mission;   

Inclusive  : A transformed church which operates with diversity as an asset at all levels of ministry, policy and practice. 

I know I have a great deal to learn about my racial unawareness and brokenness. The YWCA and Illinois Wesleyan University are co-sponsoring a free, daylong seminar on Unlearning Racism on November 5, which I plan to attend. I hope to continue to think about this justice/spiritual issue and to learn answers to my questions about language in worship and more. I also hope to have God convicting me of my own racism and how, as a follower of Jesus and part of the dominant culture, I must grow and change.          

Pastor Jane Roeschley

* Two companion articles which were helpful to me are: Racial Healing in the Church by Glen Alexander Guyton and Continuum on Becoming an Antiracist, Multicultural Institution