CREEDE HINSHAW: The faith community after Charlottesville

Listening to people discussing monuments in the aftermath of Charlottesville makes one realize that there is plenty of anger to go around. The faith community has some basic work left on teaching what it means to love God and love neighbor.

I wonder if the religious community – a very broadly defined group – believes there is any work to be done in Albany and Doughtery County regarding race relations and respect for each other?

Some congregations will contend we don’t need to “stir up trouble” by exploring racial issues. This line of thinking goes something like this: We have discussed this topic enough. Let’s get on to issues that really make a difference. Continuing to discuss race only rubs raw wounds. We’ve gotten over this decades ago.

Other congregations will contend we haven’t yet finished the discussion. In fact, they might contend that we haven’t even begun the conversation. Their reasoning goes something like this: There are still many issues yet to be addressed. Those who believe we’ve finished the conversation don’t understand the depth of the issues. Justice is yet to be realized in so many segments of our city/county. We can’t move beyond issues we haven’t fully addressed.

People of faith can fall down on either side of this issue or in between. The approach to race, justice, and even civil conversation does not always neatly fall into categories of liberal, conservative, black, white and Hispanic

Over the decades while serving as pastor in a local church, I tried to make some well-meaning, sometimes naïve approaches to racial reconciliation. I learned that I didn’t know nearly as much as I thought I knew. I learned that some of my suggestions were as naïve as our president, who famously stated that the Israeli-Palestinian controversy isn’t all that complex.

One of the most effective approaches I can remember took place in Columbus some years ago when the Rev. Johnny Flakes, a well-known black pastor, organized a city-wide group of Christians who agreed to meet in small groups each month for a year. The groups were composed of ordinary church members of various races who discussed race from their perspective.

The groups had no study guide/resource book as I remember, although maybe some years we did. We simply met for an hour each month and listened to each other’s stories about how race impacted us. Once a year, all groups met together for inspiration and to re-form their groups for another year.

There is no way to measure whether those groups made a difference in the life of that city. But I remember still some of the stories; my appreciation for people of other racial backgrounds was heightened. These groups were just one small, significant way to improve the spiritual and racial harmony of one community.

What is being done in Albany? Who’s asking the questions? Who is avoiding the issues? Is there work to be done that can be addressed by the faith community?

Email columnist Creede Hinshaw, a retired Methodist minister, at [email protected].