jerad's blog

(Crossposted with permission from Healing Minnesota Stories Blog)

What survey data says about White Christians’ attitudes about race and privilege

White Christians are twice as likely as other groups to agree that it’s acceptable for White people to have more wealth than other people.

At White Church Truths, filmed at Westminster Presbyterian Church on November 5, 2022, the afternoon session featured music from Patricia Lacy, a panel responding to the morning's keynote that included Rev. Dr. Kelly Sherman-Conroy, Felecia Boone, and Rev. Dr. DeWayne Davis; a Q&A session, a charge to the group from Dr. Tanden Brekke, and continued MCing from Minnesota Council of Churches' co-directors of racial justice Rev. Pamela Ngunjiri and Rev. Jim Bear Jacobs.

This video of the morning session of White Church Truths includes a keynote from Dr. Michael O. Emerson on his research discovery that "whiteness" takes precedence over scripture in the belief systems of most white churchgoing Christians, and his description of what the "religion of whiteness" is. Rev. Jim Bear Jacobs and Rev. Pamela Ngunjiri from Minnesota Council of Churches MC the morning, which also includes Rev. Alanna Tyler of Westminster Presbyterian Church, and music presented by Tonia Hughes Kendrick with Billy Steele.

Church mission trips can serve many purposes from devoting human resources of donations, labor, relationship and prayer to the communities being traveled to and fostering discipleship and global empathy in the sending communities and travelers. However there are times and places when a mission trip is inadvisable. As of this week one of those places is Uganda, which is facing an Ebola outbreak situation.

Minnesota Churches are officially advised to POSTPONE any planned mission trips to the country of Uganda.

Voices united, embracing the future

“Then all of you can join together with one voice….. looking forward to what lies ahead, we press on to reach the end of the race for which God is calling us.” 

(Romans 15:6; Philippians 3:13-14 NLT)

FELLOWSHIP AWARD RECOGNIZES IMPACT OF TAPESTRY PROJECT

Our CEO, Rev. Dr. Curtiss Paul DaYoung, offered these comments at the August 17, 2022 press conference for Tekle Sundberg:

 

Remarks about the Police Killing of Tekle Sundberg

 

Rev. Dr. Curtiss DeYoung, CEO

Minnesota Council of Churches

 

The body of Christ in Minnesota is stronger today than it was in May.

The mission of the Minnesota Council of Churches is to manifest the unity of the body of Christ and to build the common good in the world. Our mission is necessary because it can sometimes be hard to believe that there is any unity in the body of Christ at all – especially after we have seen how different Christians respond so differently to public health guidance around the COVID pandemic.