Dear Church, Open Your Eyes to Racism

Dear Church,  I write to you to admit my own blindness as a white woman to our history of racism and the harm that has been done and continues to be done to our brothers and sisters of color. I encourage us white folks to support one another as we open our eyes to these…

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Dear Church, I Write to Share a Recipe for Gumbo!

Dear Church,  Given America’s polarized divisions, it’s time to make gumbo!    As a proud native of New Orleans, I have absolutely no reservation in sharing that gumbo is my favorite food on the planet. I love the shrimp. I love the sausage. I love the chicken. I also love the okra. Gumbo brings diverse ingredients…

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Dear Church, Make Room for Lament

Dear Church, I sit and write this letter in the confines of my home as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to sweep through the entire world. If you wake up every morning only to realize that this was not all a bad dream, I am with you. If your voice does not resonate with the inspirational…

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Dear Church, What Spaces Will You Create?

Dear Church, Lately, I have been pondering the question, “What drives my passion for racial reconciliation?” In 2002, my family moved to the suburbs of Charleston, SC from the projects of Queens, NY.  I left an environment where race was freely discussed at home, school, and church to a place where the conversation of race…

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Dear Church, Serve Alongside Others

  Dear Church, I want to sit here and talk about the ways I wish the Church would do better. I want to rattle off the ways I wish people would really step up and make progress. But I also think the most vulnerable and honest way I can talk about this idea of serving…

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Dear Church, Refuse to be in Denial

Dear Church, I write to you to admit that I am a recovering racist, working to overcome the lies ingrained in me by white supremacy and a racialized society. I share this to be transparent with you, to own up to and change the ways I’ve bought into the illusion of race and white supremacy,…

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Dear Church, Music Can Bridge the Divide

Dear Church, In 1979, President Jimmy Carter declared June, Black Music Month. Later in 2009, President Obama renamed it African-American Music Appreciation Month. This month was created to celebrate the influence African-Americans have had throughout the world by their music that has been created. It tells stories of faith, freedom, love, and justice. For years,…

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Dear Church, Lest We Forget Our Need for Repentance

Dear Church, Where does reconciliation start in America and are we even ready? Where does the church fit in? I think it’s important to try to understand the rich and complicated history of the church in America before we can answer either of those questions. Our country is deeply forgetful; one could say we have…

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Dear Church, This is no time for complacency. Action is required.

Dear Church,  Over 60 years ago, Martin Luther King Jr., stated: “A solution of the present crisis will not take place unless men and women work for it. Human progress is neither automatic nor inevitable. Even a superficial look at history reveals that no social advance rolls in on the wheels of inevitability. Every stop…

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