For those who were unable to participate in the “Discerning Our Call to Reparative Justice” conversations in March, materials that were shared can be accessed at the following links. We hope to make the Reparative Justice Working Group updates available on a regular basis, and invite all members to study, learn, and discuss this opportunity for mission. Questions: contact Gene Locke at or Dorothy Piatt-Esguerra at .
Statement of Acknowledgement and Confession, Approved by Session, Feb. 2022: At its February 12 meeting, the Session received a presentation from the Reparative Justice Working Group. This working group held two gatherings of the congregation during the Sunday Adult Christian Formation Hour (beginning at 9:30 a.m.) on March 5 and 12 (with Zoom options on Tuesdays, March 7 and 14, at 7 p.m.) to learn, discuss, and discern who we are to be and what we are called to do to seek reparative justice in our community.
A Call to Reparative Justice:
Believing that God calls people of faith to engage in a process of remembering, restoring, repairing, and redressing injustices; Believing that God calls people of faith to engage in a process of reconciliation, seeking restitution, recognizing past sins, and confessing one’s own culpability; Believing that through Jesus Christ God restores and forgives those who turn to God in repentance and contrition; We now acknowledge the Church’s historic complicity in the enslavement of African people and a history of cruelty and discrimination against them, and in the genocide of indigenous people, whose land and culture were forcibly taken from them; We confess what we have we have done and what we have left undone. Have mercy on us. We acknowledge our guilt and seek the promise of God’s forgiveness and the opportunity for a fresh start and a new beginning. Let grace, not guilt, energize our actions toward repairing wrongs and restoring the well-being of our neighbors who have been so grievously harmed. We call upon all who believe in the One God, to study, pray, and discern how we may corporately and individually engage in repairing and restoring our community. Our Creator, Reconciler, and Sustainer, empower us all as we embark on this journey of righting wrongs and making peace with Black and indigenous neighbors. As the Prophet Amos declared: “Let justice roll down like waters, And righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.” Amen.
Study paper: “Discerning Our Call to Reparative Justice”
Discerning our call to reparative justice[87].docx
Powerpoint presentations:
Small group conversations: