An Invitation from the Heart

We are a community of White Christians from different walks of life, expressions of the Christian faith, and places on our racial awareness journey who feel a burden to address racism and the deep and pervasive brokenness it has wrought. We are committed to offering support to one another as we repent from the sin of racism, experience God’s healing and liberation, and participate in God’s redemptive work in the area of race relations. We believe these actions are critical not only because of the racial injustice we see in society, but because of how racism dishonors the image of God, diminishes the Christian witness, and divides the body of Christ.

We confess the fundamental role racism, and the White supremacy that undergirds it, has played in shaping the societal structure, narratives, power dynamics and disparities in the United States. Furthermore, we acknowledge the essential actions and ongoing complicity of the White church in the construction, maintenance, and growth of racism, historically and today. We grieve the racial brokenness in our society and long for the restoration only God can provide. In response, we commit ourselves to exposing racism and working to restore the right relationships God intended for people, systems, and communities.

We gather together to prepare ourselves and take actions that contribute to God’s redemptive work in the area of race relations in ourselves, our congregations, and our city. This includes identifying, understanding and being mindful of how the continuous elevation of white people, leadership, quality of life and culture in the U.S. has created systems, institutions, relationships, theology, churches and selves steeped in inequity. We commit to reflect on our lives, our communities, and the collective history of oppression that we share. We aim to do this in an environment that is centered on Jesus, upholds the values he embodied in his ministry, and is full of grace.

With a spirit of love, value of candor, and desire for authenticity, we welcome those who sense an invitation from God to pursue a personal journey of understanding their own “Whiteness” and how it can be transformed by God, to live into biblical reconciliation and nurture a reconciled and reconciling community.