When reading a novel that I really like, I always dread the end. While I feel a sense of completion at having finished the book, I also grieve the absence of another chapter. I wonder, what will the characters be doing once I have closed this book, put it on my shelf, and gone about the rest of my life? I have a sense that the story continues...it just didn’t get written down.

As our Lenten Series on The Spiritual Work of Resisting Racism comes to a close, I wonder if we might liken this series to a book with a sequel. There is a definite sense of completion; this series, the studies, the sermons, the interruptions will be finished. We are taking measures to make the work our church has done available for other churches who feel called to walk a similar path, and the sermons and interruptions will remain available online for you to return to if you wish.

Still, our work of resisting racism most certainly continues...it just hasn’t been written yet. Becoming anti-racist people and an anti-racist church takes a journey of far more than six weeks; it falls in the category of work that will outlast our lifetime. I urge you not to squander the efforts of these last weeks. Pause and take time to write down some thoughts about what you’ve learned, how God has worked in you to help you grow, and what you hope might be next. Church staff members are actively considering what our next steps will be, and we want to hear how the Holy Spirit is stirring you toward next steps. Reach out to Pastor Cathy at [email protected] with your thoughts.

It is most fitting that we close this series on Easter Sunday, the day in which we celebrate Jesus Christ resurrected from the dead. This event, this day, is the grounding of our hope—hope that the broken, racist systems of this world will one day finally be vanquished by the undying power of love through Jesus; hope that pulls us out of despair when we feel overwhelmed by the magnitude of racism; hope that we can change, by God’s grace. This is the hope that makes a new chapter possible, enabling us to keep working and seeking the beloved community.

As we close the book today, I pray that Easter opens new chapters of possibility in our lives and in our world, and I look forward to seeing what God will do.

With great love,
Pastor Taylor