Greetings again, to you!
I’m excited to be reconnecting with you, especially in these times. I pray that you are well, that you are able to see love, feel love, share love. I pray that you are experiencing a Holy Eucharist in your life!
Since it’s been a while, let me re-introduce myself by sharing the link to the pre-work site of our last engagement. I’m a bit avant garde, so it’s only fair I give you some context. LOL. Check out as much of it as you’d like, or skip it – if you remember…
It’s been about a year since we were last together. And an incredibly great deal has happened in that time! #MercyLord…
I’ve been trying to keep my family together in the midst of this journey through forced exile and into freedom. I lost my son. I couldn’t tend to him as he needed tending and he chose to begin his prodigal journey. Yet, I still have my wife and daughter, by God’s grace.
My garden has had ups and downs. I can grow a few things. But still haven’t been able to grow any proteins. My beans and peanuts don’t seem to make it. But my okra & lemon grass is thriving. My peppers are doing well. My second effort at greens are coming along nicely. So, I’m getting better!
The Market took me to school!
I lost a lot. But learned a lot. When you actively engage the Markets, you learn a lot about human action: about your own praxiology and about the praxiology of Market Participants – who we all ultimately are.
There’s been much to distract me from this work. Yet, I’ve managed to put out quite a few episodes of Racial Heresy.
Actually, one of our recent episode is relevant to our forthcoming discussion. As you engage this work on an institutional level, you might like to hear what Fr. Cayce & I discuss about how the Church can and ought embrace humility in order to be effective in the work of racial reconciliation. I’ll put it here for you to check out as we prepare for Monday…
I also did some work on America and American exceptionalism. I know that when people speak as I do, the retort is usually that we are un-American…that we lack patriotism. So, I decided to write something explaining how I see America for any that might be tempted to critique my critique of the witness of life in America. It’s written for folk who consider themselves serious Patriots yet struggle to see the obstacle whiteness presents to forging A More Perfect Union. In it, I ask a series of questions rooted in the Preamble to the Constitution of the United States. If it’s not helpful for you, maybe it aids conversation for those you know who are afflicted by a patriotism that seems to be the exclusive preview of whiteness.
I’ve seen some of the work you’ve been up to as well. #ThanksBeToGod
I give thanks for the work relayed in the Winter 2020 edition of The North Carolina Disciple. To see the vulnerability shared with the whole Diocese was a beautiful thing. I know you are part of a rare cadre of Dioceses that are looking deeply within themselves to identify white supremacy in their own eyes, before trying to remove it from the eyes of the world around them.
That is a praiseworthy thing! Rejoice!
When we first met, the idea of anti-white supremacy work seemed foreign. We are more comfortable with anti-racism work. “White supremacy” seems so extreme.
Well it is…it is very extreme. It is an extremist position. It is ideology that is antithetical to Beloved Community. It is the Chief Obstacle to our Becoming Beloved Community.
And it has reared its ugly head in a mighty way since we were last together…hasn’t it?
So, it’s a great thing that you are who you are, in the Lord! It’s an advantage to us that this is our second round at this work!
It is a great thing that the idea of white supremacy having life in our society is not something new for you. It is a great thing for the diocese beyond the Diocese…for the Life of those within the Ecclesial Authority of the Diocese, and those who are under the Diocese’s care without their knowing.
While many are even grappling with what is meant by white supremacy, you are aware of its presence beyond its vitriolic expression. While many might think that curbing the language from the President and condemning violent groups of white supremacists will solve the problem, you are aware of the genteel expressions of white supremacy. You are aware that white supremacy is present even when we don’t see it – until we extricate it.
So, by God’s grace, you are prepared to lead people through these dangerous & sinful times and into a transformed society on the other side of this abyss. When some might be tempted to allow COVID19 resurgences and the political climate in the lead up to the election to serve as a reason to wait on doing this work, you are demonstrating a level of bravery and commitment that should not go unnoticed!
And this time you are bringing your Bishop to the table! A Bishop who has done much himself to ensure that “Things must change.” (Thank you for that statement, lord Bishop.)
I write all of this because I know I can be demanding. So, it’s important for me to make sure you know how much I care for you. And part of that is acknowledging the intensity of my zeal for the Lord.
When I was in seminary, our homiletics professor had us do an exercise where we identified the metaphor for ourselves as a preacher. I was drawn to Ezekiel 33 where he is made a watchman. Verses 7-9 set the tone well:
“As for you, son of man, I made you a watchman for the house of Israel, and you shall hear a word from My mouth. When I say to the sinner, ‘You will surely die,’ and you do not speak to warn the ungodly man to change his way, that lawless man will die in his lawlessness; but his blood I shall require at your hand. But if you warn the ungodly man to turn from his way, and he does not turn from his way, he will die in his ungodliness; but you have delivered your own soul.
You see Beloved, the hope of white supremacy permeates this Presidential Election. And not just on the part of Trump supporters. Biden supporters and moderate Republicans still believe, despite all we’ve seen from Donald Trump, that there will be a peaceful transfer of power. And so for many this will all be resolved on November 3, 2020. One way or another, the President will be elected and “we can begin getting back to normal.”
But, there is a very real danger in these times…
A danger of a contested election. A threat to the peaceful transfer of power, which we discussed on Racial Heresy in 2017.
With the resurgence of violent white supremacist groups…of plots as daring as overthrowing State Governments and kidnapping Governors, there’s a very real danger of violence in response to any contested election.
We who believe on the Lord Jesus and in the Beloved Community ought get busy about building the Ark to carry all who would see Love through these times. And, that’s what we endeavor to do in the Second Session of the White Supremacy Extrication Process®.
On Monday, October 19, 2020 from 9AM EST until 12 Noon, we will connect on Zoom in order to revisit the three areas that you all identified as a group, for the extrication of white supremacy within the Diocese of North Carolina.
This is the link for the Zoom Meeting Save it. Click it now. Bookmark it. Remember it’s here if you lose it.
How are those areas shaped by the times in which we find ourselves? How have we fared toward extricating white supremacy from those areas thus far? What have been the obstacles to overcoming and transcendence?
Because once we know and are clear about the obstacles to victory, we can develop a strategy for victory that is guaranteed not to fail!
And our goal in this session is to come away with a tangible plan of action for the work you have determined to do.
I asked you in Session I: “What is the single greatest question you have about how white supremacy is hindering the life of the Diocese?” We looked at multiple areas where you saw white supremacy having impact on the Diocese. Then you narrowed those choices down to three – not because you felt the others were unimportant, but because we wanted to start with something manageable. The final three, as you determined were:
- Reparations/redistribution of wealth
- Worship & Removal of white supremacy from liturgy
- Overcoming the barriers to access in Diocesan structures, which hinder participation
Once your identified those areas we explored the following:
- What is the greatest damage caused our hurt that needs to be undone?
- Where are the greatest opportunities for repairing the breach?
- What are the greatest strengths that exist & to which you have access at present that will aid your efforts?
You might wish to download the White Supremacy Extrication PlanTM and re-fill it out to organize your thoughts in preparation for Monday.
I’d actually love it if you would. If you remember, we were working beyond the bell. It was threatening to snow, and you all advised me to leave and make sure I made my flight. Unfortunately, I never got copies of the finished Extrication Plans. So, I really would love if you all would redo these for your sakes and for mine!!! LOL
I ask you to spend some time revisiting those areas and considering how you feel you did in those areas. How well did you remain committed to you intentions? How could you have done better at maintaining commitment? How should you have done better at maintaining commitment?
Especially as you consider the zeitgeist, how would the Diocese have been better positioned to lead the people of North Carolina through these times if the white supremacist residue of these areas had been extricated?
Please write a list of the accomplishments in those areas as well as a list of the obstacles that hindered accomplishment. There might be a quiz…😉
Your understanding of the obstacles you face in those three areas will be critical to the success of this workshop. We cannot create a viable action plan if that plan does not address the very real obstacles. We are not working in the abstract, Beloved!
We need to come away with a strategy brothers and sisters. After this election, we will be tempted to withdraw. We will be tempted to rest. The enemy of Beloved Community will compel us to envision that all will be well, now that the election has been resolved.
Yet, regardless of the outcome…
Whether you are Republican or Democrat – or some other Party. Whether you are a Liberal or Conservative. Whether you are a Trump Republican or a moderate.
Wherever you fall on the political sphere, one thing has been made abundantly clear: there is incredible need for extricating white supremacy from American Society and Culture.
So rejoice! You have been chosen by God to lead the people of the Diocese past the temptations along the Way. You have been chosen to fight in the battle for the mattering of all life in the imago Dei. #GiveThanksAndPraise
This time we will be proactive. This time we will not allow those around us to rest until the enemy of Beloved Community is vanquished!
We will have an intention to stay awake…to redeem the time in these evil days. We will have an intention to come away with tangible plans that address the anthropological crisis as it is specifically made manifest within the Diocese of North Carolina. And we will be able to present a model for forging the Beloved Community and maintaining the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
On Monday, I look forward to being with you. I hope you take the time to pray for this time. To pray for me in this time. To pray for one another in this time, that we might come with the best of ourselves – an offering and sacrifice to God!
I hope you review the links in this message and engage the content in preparing your mind for this work. I hope you spend time in thought, intentionally considering what you have done and left undone in your initial efforts to extricate white supremacy.
I invite you to attend this virtual workshop in the holy space you’ve set aside in your home or wherever you will be for this workshop. This work is holy work. Yet, it’s hard work that can tempt us to abandon the holy space within ourselves.
Please have a small glass/bottle of water, separate from and in addition to whatever refreshment you plan on having available for you during our time. This glass of water will be used as part of our corporate prayer time.
We, in virtual assembly (“mahebar” ማኅበር), will have virtual “mahebat” ማኅበት. The Ethiopic term “mahebat,” refers to the “means of connecting or joining together.” In Ethiopian Orthodoxy, “mahebat” is practiced by the faithful who gather in order to engage in Holy Conversation. Its process is one that is meant to remind us of the Spirit that binds us together…reminds us of the oneness to which we are called and which we endeavor to maintain while exploring the things of God, as they relate to us, deeply and truly.
Traditionally, the Ethiopian faithful keep Holy Water in their homes for drinking & cooking. Short of Holy Communion, this Holy Water is the best thing to keep on hand, as a means to ward off the evil one. They take a shot of it daily, like some take a shot of vodka in the winter cold.
Yet, I know that’s not custom in the West. And that’s ok. Yet, those of you who are clerics may want to bless your water. Others might want to keep it in your prayer space over the next few days, so that it has been enveloped in prayer. (If you do neither, I’ll never know…so no worries! LOL)
Beloved, I look forward to spending time with you all. I look forward to what we will do in the Name of the Lord. May He grant us the grace and strength to have hope and to walk worthy in this work, that we indeed might become Beloved Community!
In peace,
Jabriel+
