Last week you read, hear, and experienced the beginning of our summer sermon series, “Privilege and Promise: This is America.” We are committed to examining the extant racism around us (and in us!) and moving toward being actively antiracist — both as individuals and as a congregation. 

We recognize that this is heavy, exacting work that is both immediately necessary and requires long-term solutions. In other words, this is not a series — of sermons or of actions — that we can hurry up, get through, and get on to other, more comfortable topics. 

That is why this sermon series will occur on the 3rd and 4th Sundays of June, July, and August. Spreading out the series is intended to give us space and time to really reflect, repent, and reorient ourselves toward the antiracist community God calls us to be…while also adding in time to breathe. We all need to be able to breathe. 

Becoming an actively antiracist community will not, however, be achieved merely through monologues. Space and time to question, wonder, dream, and dialogue is vital for growth. Thus, each week of this series will be accompanied by a Sermon Chat on Zoom. The link for that Zoom call will be in the Pastor Danita’s update email — so please be sure to read it, open the attachment, and follow the instructions. We need you to be part of the conversation! 

This Sunday, with the help of Galatians 3, we will consider:

• It seems the qualities and characteristics that differentiate us also often divide us. How might we overcome that tendency?
• Given that equality for all people is our goal, how do we achieve that?
• What are the advantages - and dangers - of trying to see all people as the same? 

Pastor Dave will wrestle with all that in his sermon, “Privilege and Promise: This is America — Being Colorblind.” 

(For some added dimensions of fun, try to find all the layers of subtext in that title.)