…God calls us into the church to accept the cost and joy of discipleship,
to be servants in the service of the whole human family,
to proclaim the gospel to all the world and resist the powers of evil,
to share in Christ’s baptism and eat at his table,
to join him in his passion and victory…
– Statement of Faith of the United Church of Christ
Dear Foreside Community Church friends,
In the past months, while in the midst of a global health pandemic of COVID-19, we have seen laid bare—in vastly disparate impacts to labor, economics, health, and death within racial groups—the pre-existing condition of racial injustice in our nation’s history, and in its present. We have seen even more clearly systems of injustice centuries and decades old, and the struggle and resistance for communities of Black, Indigenous, and people of color striving for freedom and thriving.
In times such as these, we are called as one to accept, as our Statement of Faith says, “the cost and joy of discipleship… in the service of the whole human family.”
In that discipleship, we look to Christ, and see there God’s desire to liberate all from those systems of oppression and violence that harm and divide that family of humanity. We join in Christ’s mission and ministry to be present with those who have been marginalized and excluded from fullness of life, which means, in this moment, that we stand with Black, Indigenous, and People of Color.
In the weeks and months ahead, our congregation will offer a variety of educational opportunities to help each other understand systems and structures of white privilege and racial injustice, and our history and entanglement with them. We do this to support—and challenge—our members to discern the next step in their learning, but also their activity… to use the language of our vision statement, to: “discover how our lives can make a difference.” Through this work, we hope to discuss other ways we might as a congregation use our resources and ministries to support and nurture our own work of anti-racism, and partners here in Maine and beyond. To begin with, consider joining a small-group learning cohort for a 30 day introductory curriculum. If you would like resources to help you begin learning in your household on your own, you can consult a wonderful collection of resources here.
We understand that this work will have “costs:” asking us to engage in difficult and sometimes painful conversation and learning, to question structures which have benefited and made comfortable many of us for reasons we have not been aware of, and to reach for new and challenging ways and understandings of how God may yet work in and through us, and our world, towards more justice and full inclusion.
Yet, we are assured that in seeking our own transformation, and that of our community and church, we are moving forward in the joy that Christ offers to us: of connection and celebration of the divine presence in all people, and in the peace beyond all understanding into which we are invited.
We wish you so many blessings in this season… may your spirits be renewed and inspired, and may we join in our common work: to learn and grow in wisdom and in spirit, so that we may proclaim and participate in God’s transformation and justice. May God be with us in this good and holy work.
– Pastor Geoff and the Governing Board