Racial reconciliation has been a priority at Bethany for many years. Following the most recent event with Rev. Dolphus Weary, President & Executive Director of Mission Mississippi, we asked a few people to send us their current thoughts. Specifically, we asked them to write either a) general thoughts/reflections, b) any new insights, c) struggles/frustrations you’ve had, or d) changes you’d like to make.

From Curt Burnett

In the Q&A time that followed Rev. Dolphus Weary’s message at Emerald City Bible Fellowship, he began many of his answers by saying essentially, “I don’t know. What do you think?” This was consistent with his current message, which is that the next step is to find opportunities to listen to each other.

I run a business, and as a result I’m steeped in planning and goal setting. The hardest thing for me about Rev. Weary’s challenge to us is that we can’t see exactly where God is leading us. After his talk he answered a question regarding what our standard for reconciliation should be by saying, “Christ is the standard.”

So for now, there is no step-by-step program, no milestones for measuring progress in reconciliation. There is a desire to do God’s will and there are ideas. For now, Brenda and I plan to keep showing up.

From Sandra Courtway

I appreciate Bethany’s leadership and being in a community of faith that has racial reconciliation as a priority. I am tempted to think that it is good enough to “do my part” by living my life a certain way. But on some level I realize that reconciliation among races will not happen without God’s Spirit and collective action.

When John Perkins came to visit our church, a friend of mine, an African American woman in her 70’s, came to hear him speak. Dan spoke at one point in the service and my friend later told me, “You need to follow that man; he’s trying to do something.” Her words often come back to me.

I am thankful that Bethany’s leadership has taken steps that give us the opportunity to take action together. I’m trying to be a good follower.

From Max Hunter

New insights: The audience's diversity, as well as comments made during the question and answer period confirmed a belief in the desire to broaden our conversation beyond the present black and white parameters… we need to move the discussion in a new direction that includes the concerns of other "ethnic" groups and a more complex dynamic, though I'm hesitant to use the term "ethnic," due to its connotations for hierarchy.

Struggles/frustrations: It's frustrating that we--the body of Christ--haven’t gotten very far on racial fronts. In fact, the secular world is more sensitive to this issue. A civil conversation (between equals) that moves us in the direction of transparency, understanding, and reconciliation is overdue. I'm not interested in having a conversation solely to heighten awareness without a meaningful response.

It's amazing to me that the body in Seattle is still so segregated. As a consequence of racial isolation, we see a lack of diversity in our pulpits across the board. Furthermore, our city's segregated neighborhoods continue to reflect an implied commitment to a hierarchal understanding of culture, intellectual accomplishments, and superficial biological differences. Meanwhile, we see either a complete obliviousness or a lack of urgency on the part of Christians.

Changes you’d like to make: I would like to see open and honest conversation without fear. I would like to see a transgenerational, cross-disciplinary, and multicultural team of leaders, and lay people, begin to establish a plan that would seek integrate our churches and the city. I would like to see a much more complex understanding of racial reconciliation, community development, and leadership training that moves us away from an archaic sense of mission to "indigenous" populations or as Catherine Hall states, Civilizing Subjects.