The Episcopal Church is hardly alone in seeking what Christin Taylor, writing for the liberal Christian magazine “Sojourners,” called “The White Church’s Second Chance.” In the sudden intensification of racial social justice efforts following tragedies in Ferguson, Mo., Baltimore, Md., and many others, some traditionally white congregations see an opportunity to right wrongs that they say they have failed to address in the past.
Christianity has a decidedly mixed past, and possibly present, when it comes to racial justice: throughout the abolitionist movement, Civil War, and Reconstruction, for instance, pro- and anti-slavery Christians alike used Bible verses to support their positions.
Ms. Taylor shares her surprise, and pain, to realize that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s famous “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” describing the urgency of change for African Americans, was written from the Baptist minister to fellow men of faith.
I would suggest he has bigger issues to deal with than “racial divides”.
But the race issue is convenient for taking people’s eyes off the real problems leading to the decline and eventual death of The Episcopal Church.
I saw the comments as being generated by a genuine wish to be a leader in this particular sort of reconciliation. But doesn’t tat depend on how much influence or power TEC has? I get the impression that TEC doesn’t exercise much of either these days. It mainly seems to be existing while its large but ageing membership dies off.
That’s not meant to be pejorative, and I know a number of members of TEC whom I respect post on this site from time to time, just saying how it can appear to an outsider.