Facebook Publication Date: 8/14/2018 7:08

Lace on Race
Lace on Faith
Lace on Grace (relational ethics)

When Race and Faith overlap.

Here in our beloved community, we have collectively decided that we would not shy away from the hard, sticky, messy conversations.

We have affirmed that it is particularly in these conversations that breakthroughs can happen, and that understanding, and the praxis that comes from that deep and unflinching understanding serves us well as we plumb the depths of this multifaceted topic of race.

This article we will be considering, which will be embedded in the comments, is part of our calling to refuse to shy away from topics some might consider to be ‘too much’.

As an unambiguously Black woman who identifies as Christian, I look at this with great interest. I also tread carefully, mindful of the concept of ‘lanes’, and of lack of lived experience. But this ruling, coming as does cloaked in the Civil Rights act of 1964 (Title VII) does indeed affect me.

The questions are many, but the main one I find myself asking after I have read and considered it is this one: Does the ruling strengthen or weaken the Civil Rights Act?

Again, I am neither white, nor Jewish, nor a lawyer. So my role here is to present and then to listen deeply. I will offer more query as commentary as the conversation evolves (and I hope we are able to stay the course and go deep and long)

For those of you who are any or all of these three though, I would love to hear your thoughts, either on my query, or ones of your own. As well, I would love to hear the considered thoughts of the rest of the community.

In regards to topics and discussions like this one, we will not shy away. But we will bring our absolute best selves, remembering the vibe and the ethos of this space we have created, and remembering we can say and ask anything, but we will also hold to the standards we have set for ourselves these seven months: we will not confuse candor with unbridled self expression; will not use the tool of query as a cudgel; will welcome robust discourse even as we remember that this is a place of safety for both personhood and ideas.

Still, with all these parameters in place, there will be some who may not feel they can engage. Here, I will say what I said about the discussion re ableism: If you do not feel take part in either the reading or the discussion, that is perfectly ok.

What will be less than ok is participating in the discussion and acting out by blowing up, shutting down, withdrawal or flouncing because your interior state is reactive with the source material. It’s perfectly fine to read the article, and think about it before immediately reading the comments or commenting yourself.

This is a fine skill we are developing here, as important as the topic of race and faith itself; which is why I included it in relational ethics. We can do deep work with potential landmines. We can stay in community even in the hard things. We can hold space for each of us in our separate personhoods, and always, always choose to remember love in all its forms, here especially remembering philia, pragma, agape, and hesed.

We are learning to walk through crucibles together.

Let’s walk here.

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The only way we can continue to have these crucial conversations and to be one of the few places where this dialog is done mindfully and with intention is for us to keep this community viable and thriving.

Please, if you have not done so this week or this month, please, regardless if you have been a longtime reader, or are new to this space, strongly consider contributing to this community. It cannot, will not, survive without you.

I am told that mobile users cannot see and utilize the button that allows contributions. For those of you who do not see the blue button in the top right of your screen, I will embed the link here. Thank you for tangibly joining with us to keep this space secure and reliable.

paypal.me/mennolacie

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