Black lives matter.
We of the Board of Directors of the Nebraska Conference of the United Church of Christ are compelled by our faith to add our voices to those who affirm that Black Lives Matter. Silence in this time is unfaithful to our call as leaders in the Church.
All humanity is created in the image and likeness of God and must be treated with respect and dignity.
Institutional racism is deeply ingrained in our society, violating our theological understanding of the human person.
Dismantling racism requires a persistent Holy Spirit-directed commitment to structural, social, and cultural change. Such change begins when we confess and repent. We confess that the Church has implicitly and explicitly fostered and participated in systems of white privilege and white supremacy. We ask God’s forgiveness for our sin and humbly repent.
We bear witness to the new and renewed commitments we have seen by so many to overcome the obstacles to achieving justice and equality for people of color. We commit ourselves to stand in solidarity with you. This work is both urgent and ongoing.
Our commitment must result in meaningful change. We as a Board are still discerning all the steps that we must take, but today we are committing ourselves to these three:
- To move forward with urgency in developing and implementing anti-bias and anti-racism training for our clergy, in accordance with General Synod Thirty-One resolution “On Establishing Procedures for Cultural Diversity Training for Authorized Ministers.”
- To encourage local congregations to engage in this work using resources from the United Church of Christ such as White Privilege: Let’s Talk—A Resource for Transformational Dialogue. We commit both to provide training opportunities and to make funds available for congregations pursuing this work.
- To use our financial resources for clergy training and education to support calling to the Nebraska Conference authorized ministers who are persons of color.
We encourage you to join the anti-racism efforts across our state, so that we might create a more just and equal Nebraska. As followers of Jesus Christ, we move forward with faith, courage, love, and hope, committed to God’s vision of a more just world for all.
Peace,
The Nebraska Board of Directors