What does the phrase ‘black lives matter' mean to me, and what is God calling our church to do about racism and racial justice? by Elizabeth Ferguson https://padlet.com/eliferg/h0ql7imjahxqv74t [We want this to be a safe space for everyone; with that goal in mind, comments will be monitored by a moderator before posting. The moderator will remove comments that may be hurtful to another person.] en-us 2020-09-27 13:37:50 UTC 2020-10-21 22:35:16 UTC hello@padlet.com Made in the Image of God https://padlet.com/eliferg/h0ql7imjahxqv74t/wish/785996457 We are all made in the image of God. To me, Black Lives Matter draws attention to that fact, in a country where Black bodies have been historically and presently oppressed and devalued. It is a statement that asks me to confront the ways in which I have been complicit in racism in the past, and it asks me to do the work to move towards being anti-racist. I believe the church should be an instrumental force in bringing attention to the subjugation, police violence, and lack of consideration endured within the Black community. Our God is a God of justice, and we are called to be with, amplify, and support marginalized groups.]]> 2020-09-28 21:23:12 UTC https://padlet.com/eliferg/h0ql7imjahxqv74t/wish/785996457 Black Lives Matter https://padlet.com/eliferg/h0ql7imjahxqv74t/wish/786100857 Means each person is created in the image of God.  Seeing God in each person.  Treating them with dignity and respect.
Janet Macgregor-Williams]]> 2020-09-28 22:30:10 UTC https://padlet.com/eliferg/h0ql7imjahxqv74t/wish/786100857 Black Lives Matter https://padlet.com/eliferg/h0ql7imjahxqv74t/wish/794403662 To me, "black lives matter" is the bare minimum acknowledgement that is being asked of white people right now. In a culture that has consistently devalued Black lives since Black people were brought here as slaves and continues to do so today with our responses when Black people are killed and with mass incarceration, which disproportionately affects the Black community.

Declaring that Black lives matter is a declaration of value, not of superiority. Pundits and other political forces have twisted the meaning of the phrase. Its intent is not that Black lives matter more or that only Black lives matter. It's simply a statement that, yes, we value the lives of our Black brothers and sisters.

As Christians, I think the call is even stronger. When the shepherd left to get the lost lamb, the moral is that the lamb who needed the attention should receive it. Right now in America, it's our Black communities that need the most help. Absolutely the least we can do is say that Black lives matter.

- Doug Levandowski]]> 2020-10-01 13:00:15 UTC https://padlet.com/eliferg/h0ql7imjahxqv74t/wish/794403662 R.E.S.P.E.C.T to quote an oldie. As an art teacher for 25+ years in coed and all girls schools, I used many Crayola products, and was so grateful when they started packaging boxes of skin-tone colored crayons! https://padlet.com/eliferg/h0ql7imjahxqv74t/wish/796507411 Sandra H. Lewis, Trenton. NJ]]> 2020-10-01 22:14:17 UTC https://padlet.com/eliferg/h0ql7imjahxqv74t/wish/796507411 God Calls Us https://padlet.com/eliferg/h0ql7imjahxqv74t/wish/797188016 I am so proud to be part of a congregation that is willing to listen, learn and talk about this difficult and at times uncomfortable subject.  The next step is to speak up, to be anti-racist.  
Janet Macgregor-Williams]]> 2020-10-02 10:25:13 UTC https://padlet.com/eliferg/h0ql7imjahxqv74t/wish/797188016 Black Lives Matter https://padlet.com/eliferg/h0ql7imjahxqv74t/wish/801134290 Many have used the parable of the Lost Sheep to understand the Black Lives Matter movement, but I recently read an article where the author compared the BLM movement with the parable of the Persistent Widow found in Luke 18: 1-8.  The parable is about a widow (historically vulnerable members of society) who bangs on the door of a judge who has no regard for others. He ignored the widow, but she kept knocking and asking for what was rightfully hers.  Eventually the judge opened the door and granted her wish.

The BLM movement, to me, doesn’t mean that only Black lives matter. We cannot forget that people of color have not had the same opportunities that we take for granted.  We must remember that their lives matter, too. Like the lost sheep, we need to care not just for those in the flock but also for those who have become separated from the flock.  The parable of the Persistent Widow encourages us to ask: How much longer will we ignore those who have been knocking at the door seeking justice?  When will we answer the door and welcome people of color who for decades have been asking for equality and opportunity?

Ann WIley]]> 2020-10-04 19:12:25 UTC https://padlet.com/eliferg/h0ql7imjahxqv74t/wish/801134290 I value our diversity and don't want to polarize our small portion of the body of Christ or stigmatize others who don't agree. I personally like a series of signs on the church property: - United by the love of God. - sharing a diversity of politics. - we are called to affirm: black lives matter. - we pray and act for justice and reconciliation. Brandt McCabe https://padlet.com/eliferg/h0ql7imjahxqv74t/wish/803906463 2020-10-05 16:56:39 UTC https://padlet.com/eliferg/h0ql7imjahxqv74t/wish/803906463 Ally for Racial Justice https://padlet.com/eliferg/h0ql7imjahxqv74t/wish/808100480 • Responding "All Lives Matter" to "Black Lives Matter" is actually more divisive than unifying.  It discounts and diminishes the focus on the violence and discrimination Black individuals face every day in this country.
• I want to do the work of becoming a white ally, from the posture of invitation to the humble journey. The north star of this striving is Shared Humanity – a central belief of how I want to live as a Christian.
- Catherine Thomas

]]> 2020-10-06 19:05:52 UTC https://padlet.com/eliferg/h0ql7imjahxqv74t/wish/808100480 Our Take https://padlet.com/eliferg/h0ql7imjahxqv74t/wish/808726174 We can't think that any one of us is  not for social justice. 
A sign has been put up on or near our church property that we think misrepresents how some of us feel about combatting social INjustice. 
While we have been church members we have always felt it threw out beams of love and peace. When we saw the BLM sign up in front of the manse, our hearts sank. Instead of leading with love and peace on Main Street, it seemed to us we are simply running with the pack. 

A few facts:
BLM is controversial

Patrice Cullers- has declared herself and her co-founders of BLM ideologically Marxist-trained, and trained in non-traditional protesting. 
Her early mentor was Eric Mann, a formerly incarcerated member of the Weather Underground-a radical militant movement of the 60's. 

The NY leader of BLM was profiled in Sunday's New York Times. His daily routine encompasses gun proof vests, switching cars for secrecy, scanning the crowd, and security checks.
 On YouTube you can see a BLM member screaming that BLM sees looting as a form of reparations. 

More facts 

Robert Woodson, a black man, founder of the Woodson Center in Washington, DC,  formerly with the American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research says:
BLM is romanticizing criminal behavior and reinforcing racist Black stereotypes, and that BLM is the opposite of what the Civil Rights Movement stood for. 

At the Woodson Center they are building 'Islands of Peace' as healing agents for neighborhoods, reaching out to communities that want to develop trust and confidence. The Woodson Center supports black mothers who want a voice. That to us is leading with love. 

We urge the staff and session to lead with love and peace on Main Street in the future and in some way to avoid committing our church members by implication where they don't want to be committed. 
John  & Kate Wood

]]> 2020-10-07 00:32:34 UTC https://padlet.com/eliferg/h0ql7imjahxqv74t/wish/808726174 We agree with Brandt in that we are a congregation that has always valued our diversity. Though we may differ in some ways, as Christians, we can all agree that black lives matter. Proverbs 3:27 tell us -Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to do it. We know it is in our power to stand against injustice and oppression wherever we see it. We see it in schools that need more and different resources to adequately serve children of color. We see it in communities lacking in essential health and housing resources. We see it in people who are the victims of violence in our cities. It is certainly within our power to help in any way we are called to do so. Black lives matter and as Christians we have a responsibility to address injustice. In our minds, this is indisputable. The point where many of us struggle with the Black Lives Matter signs is that they can have a connotation that is not a more holistic approach to the value of black lives and the injustices black people face every day but, rather, a reference to an organization with a specific mission that is not only anti-law enforcement but controversial in its history and tactics . While police brutality is a horrific problem that must be addressed, under the banner of the BLM organization many police officers, who have done nothing but serve their communities faithfully and with dignity have been vilified and physically assaulted. It concerns us to think that in order for us to show our support for racial injustice, we are placing a sign that indicates to our local police that our community of faith is somehow not supportive of those who do the right thing to help our community every day. We would all like to say and act on the fact that black lives matter without it being a political or divisive statement. Unfortunately, that isn’t the case. We would much prefer a sign that says “we value black lives” or “we stand against racial injustice” rather than a sign that mirrors the name of a specific and divisive organization. https://padlet.com/eliferg/h0ql7imjahxqv74t/wish/810084121 Dawn D'Orlando & Brett Danko]]> 2020-10-07 13:04:21 UTC https://padlet.com/eliferg/h0ql7imjahxqv74t/wish/810084121 A Pyramid, a Rorschach Test jvamos1 https://padlet.com/eliferg/h0ql7imjahxqv74t/wish/810492380 The image that comes to me when I think of the phrase “Black Lives Matter” is a pyramid. At the very top, at the point, the phrase seems so simple to me, the meaning indisputable. How could we possibly claim that black lives do not matter, whatever other meanings we might bring to it? But the point opens out to so much complexity beneath. At the risk of mixing metaphors, the phrase Black Lives Matter is a Rorschach for our times. To some (and this would include me) it conveys the very straightforward thought that people of particular racial backgrounds have been the victims of systemic oppression, the residual of which may be invisible to those who are in positions of privilege, but whose effects are keenly felt by those who suffer because of it. It communicates a commitment to justice for such people. To others, this singling out of one group seems to negate a kind of fair and equal treatment of all (“All Lives Matter”). And to still others, it conveys a taking of sides, a zero-sum-game that connotes a lack of support for the police (Blue Lives) bound to protect all citizens, the vast majority of whom are honorable men and women seeking to do their job with fairness and skill. To others, “Black Lives Matter” relates to a specific organization, whose leftist underpinnings seem antithetical to Christian faith and is associated with violent groups on the fringe of society. And beneath the pyramidal weight of such a simple phrase, we’re all being crushed; we’re all being fragmented.

It seems to me that the question for us as Christian people is…what do we mean by “Black Lives Matter” and how do we convey that? By what creative means do we communicate the love and justice of Jesus Christ, without becoming Christian milquetoasts, or in our zeal, being co-opted by the ideology of the moment? How can we be radically rooted (and rooted is the meaning of radical) in our Christian faith as we passionately advocate for what is true and just?

- Jeff Vamos

]]> 2020-10-07 14:41:33 UTC https://padlet.com/eliferg/h0ql7imjahxqv74t/wish/810492380 Black Lives Matter. This means different things to different people. It means much the same thing to most of the people in our community. To others a different connotation has been attached – anarchistic, pro-violence, anti police and worse. Movements like this will easily be attacked because the need for them is not self evident (in spite of what you may think). The attachment of ANTIFA to this movement is ludicrous. When you peacefully demonstrate at the same time that others riot, you risk being labeled as violent; that is the nature of things.It is important to clearly express what we are for and why support for this movement is consistent with our role as Christians.We have people that disagree with the sign; what are we doing to allow their opinions to safely come to light? What parts of their concern are valid?Being convinced of the correctness of our position is not enough. We must find ways to bring the light and reveal. Dennis Sheppard https://padlet.com/eliferg/h0ql7imjahxqv74t/wish/810761982 2020-10-07 15:43:52 UTC https://padlet.com/eliferg/h0ql7imjahxqv74t/wish/810761982 The phrase Black Lives Matter https://padlet.com/eliferg/h0ql7imjahxqv74t/wish/810957557 represents to me a deep yearning for equality: in justice and opportunity. A deep yearning for at the very least -  being able to move through a day with a sense of safety. It represents to me a deep cry from the pain of living in a country where white is the powerful default paradigm and all the implications of that in policy and moving through the everyday. It invites me to do the hard work of learning, of listening, of being vulnerable and honest-for the long haul. And to pray that God's grace and steadfast love hold it all. That I and my PCoL church family might be a stronger agent of support and empowering change for my black and brown brothers and sisters.
-Jill Cifelli]]> 2020-10-07 16:30:16 UTC https://padlet.com/eliferg/h0ql7imjahxqv74t/wish/810957557 https://padlet.com/eliferg/h0ql7imjahxqv74t/wish/811999396 In reference to Mike Hotchkiss’ and Brandt McCabes’ thoughtful posts - it might be best to replace the BLM Sign with a newly designed PCOL sign that includes the words “black lives matter”.  The words that come before and after these  3 words could come from a thoughtful church group discussion this evening.  
   Paul Buda]]> 2020-10-07 22:15:53 UTC https://padlet.com/eliferg/h0ql7imjahxqv74t/wish/811999396 I am sharing a letter I sent to the Clerk of Session, according to Presbyterian polity. https://padlet.com/eliferg/h0ql7imjahxqv74t/wish/814398605 "Dear Mr Sung,
I request that this letter be read at the next meeting and be included in the Session minutes in its entirety.
As a long time member, Deacon and Elder of this church, I am questioning why a Black Lives Matter sign is placed at the curn, in front of the Manse, on Main Street ?
We are a Presbyterian Church USA, whose founding purpose is still to serve ALL in need, prayer and deed, regardless of ethnicity, race or religion, even though there is some recent popular sentiment to be a "Community Church". We are still a member of the Presbytery of New Brunswick and PCUSA.
I prayerfully ask that the sign be removed as soon as possible, to restore our 322 year old reputation and protection of our ministry to people of all faith and beliefs. We are not a billboard property for those choose to take sides on anything but our founding religious principles.
Why are we singling out people of color like "Black Lives Matter" to the dismissal of the rest of our United States of American Society ????

https://en.wikipedia.org/Race and ehtnicity in the United States
https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/US/PST045219
 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics of the United States

https://www.brookings.edu/blog/the avenue/2018/03/14/the-us-will-become-minority-white-in-2045-census-projects/

Question ---- ???
Who and what is the successful history and origin of the popular groups today called "Antifa" and "Black Lives Matter" ???
The information that I am finding on this subject leads me to believe that these organizations are a warring conflict to our church and country's basic foundations that need to be flushed out for their truthful purpose.

During this time of great stress in our country, TRUTHFUL FACTS need to be disseminated to our congregation and Temple Micah, for the benefit of all. Not some more modern wishful ways of interpreting things that I have heard.

I have spent 71 years of my 82 years of life and wealth, helping others regardless of their age, gender, ethnicity, racial background or color, so please do not try to dilute my genuine concern about this matter.

I look forward to your response and action
Yours in Faith,
Kathy Edwards"
+++++++++++++++++]]> 2020-10-08 16:08:56 UTC https://padlet.com/eliferg/h0ql7imjahxqv74t/wish/814398605 Any signs on church property https://padlet.com/eliferg/h0ql7imjahxqv74t/wish/814691111 It is the responsibility of the SESSION to create the rules about what can legally be placed on PCOL property.
I hope any new signs are appropriate to the present architecture and purpose.
Kathy Edwards]]> 2020-10-08 17:15:19 UTC https://padlet.com/eliferg/h0ql7imjahxqv74t/wish/814691111 As a Christian, I wish to support all in this historic moment of awakening who can boldly and openly affirm that BLACK LIVES MATTER: educators, clergy, police, businesses, election officials, social service providers, medical practitioners, and all who create and sustain societal structures for peace and prosperity. bferguson40_1 https://padlet.com/eliferg/h0ql7imjahxqv74t/wish/815854396 As we all read, listen, learn, and love our neighbors, let us come to understand the impact that not only individuals, but that *structures* and institutions as well, have had on the systematic underpinnings of the creation and perpetuation of a gross racial under-caste in this country. The time has come for us to collectively learn the facts of our history and to talk openly, like the Germans did post-WWII, and to take actions that account for our collective sins of action, inaction, and decades-long silence: symbolically (memorials to domestic terror lynchings), linguistically (as with this sign), and financially (reparations). We are called as witnesses to God's abundant love to speak the truth as it becomes apparent, as we learn it. These truths emerge slowly, and thus we respond dynamically. This awakening is occurring within our collective lifetimes, and history will judge us for our silence, or for our courageous actions. I am reminded of the period from 1954-1968, and the courage of Christians like John Lewis, whose boldness eclipsed posting a sign in the yard. Consider a visit to Selma, Montgomery, Richmond, Birmingham, Jackson, Greensboro, Memphis, Little Rock, and the like. It stirred me, and has powerfully moved me to more active anti-racist actions.
Books for resource/learning:
* JUST MERCY (Stevenson)
* THE NEW JIM CROW (Alexander)
* BORN A CRIME (Noah)
* HOMEGOING (Gyasi)
* A TRAVELER'S GUIDE TO THE CIVIL-RIGHTS MOVEMENT (Carrier)
-Brent Ferguson]]> 2020-10-09 02:29:12 UTC https://padlet.com/eliferg/h0ql7imjahxqv74t/wish/815854396 https://padlet.com/eliferg/h0ql7imjahxqv74t/wish/817922216 Kathy, thank you for sharing your concerns.  As Emmanuel Acho says, these are “uncomfortable conversations,” but I also believe they are necessary conversations.   I have been on a personal journey to hear the voices of our black brothers and sisters and explore how we (as a country) and I (as an individual) can help to put an end to racism in our country.  Though we cannot legislate feelings, I have come to the conclusions that we must legislate policies that will address racism, rather than support it.   
I do believe that all lives matter, but Jesus often reached out to those who were on the fringes, the leper, the Samaritan, the lost sheep, the women, and children.  In the same way I believe that we are called to give preferential treatment to those in our community who have been excluded and oppressed.   To remove the sign or to put up a sign that says “all lives matter” says to our black brothers and sisters that we disagree, that we do not think that their lives matter.  
I am grateful to be part of a church that is willing to talk about it and hope that we can find a way to be the body of Christ together, even if we do not all agree; because we need all the different parts of the body.            Janet Macgregor-Williams

]]> 2020-10-09 20:04:35 UTC https://padlet.com/eliferg/h0ql7imjahxqv74t/wish/817922216 Talking Things Out https://padlet.com/eliferg/h0ql7imjahxqv74t/wish/818627247 If the congregation and  Session  listen to  Mike  Hotchkiss's advocacy for talking things out with our Black neighbors who have differing  opinions, and if we listen to Cathy Edwards reminder of the  founding  purpose of the  Presbyterian Church Church USA  to still serve all in need, prayer and deed regardless of ethnicity,  race or religion we will come out of this muddle in good faith and spirit. 
Kate Wood 

]]> 2020-10-10 14:08:07 UTC https://padlet.com/eliferg/h0ql7imjahxqv74t/wish/818627247 I am delighted to see so many Presbyterian opinions about what our mission should be and what is felt to be justification for it. A healthy and caring church has a strong mission plan to those in need. I will take responsibility for being one of the people who brought concern to our ruling body, the Session, about the controversial street sign placed on our church property. Still don’t know who placed it there ? Anyone want to share ? I much appreciate the facts that John and Kate Wood gave. Brent Ferguson used Nazism after WWII as an example for us to come to grips with our problems. A friend of mine who was in the foreign service tells me that Nazism is alive and well in Germany today. It troubles me when words like “indisputable” are used as a solution. Yes as a country we have lots of issues that need to be addressed and better solutions found, but our country is the most tolerant in the world. Perfection will never be, but a goal to attain. In fact we have many people right here in our own area that have great need. My greatest distress is how narrow our discussion is, and lack of concern for others in need. Not everyone has probably had the privilege of experiencing different ethnicity’s beyond their front door, but we are a member of the worldwide Presbyterian Church and it is our duty to educate ourselves to the needs of others. Multi-faceted education is what Presbyterianism is all about. As a Mid-westerner and the family historian, it has been my long held opinion that many in the U.S. Northeast have a very narrow insight into many facts about the needs that occur in the rest of this wonderful country. I am a dinosaur on the computer but will try to share other populations who are also and in great, who are looking for someone who might care for them too. These groups of people are places where we could make great personal contributions also, rather than just sending money. EASTERN MAINE-, USA – 14.8 poverty level, 167,000- 2017, Low income, unemployment, not enough food, poor nutrition, high incarceration rate. +++++++++++++++++++APPALACHIANS-, USA from New York to Alabama (largest city -Pittsburgh), - 23 % below US per capita income, 1 in 3 suffers in poverty and many other issues. +++++++++++++++++++NATIVE AMERICANS-, USA – Populated North America before any other group of people. On reservations countrywide = 25.4 poverty rate, unemployment, low income, drug addiction, incarcerations, low incomes, healthcare, poor education. +++++++++++++++++++ HISPANICS-, USA – 17.6 poverty rate – 11/18/19, they are 18.7 % of US population but 28.1 % live in poverty.+++++++++++++++++++ ALASKAN ALUTES-, USA – since 1867 part of U.S. , 15 % of 138,300 state population live in poverty.+++++++++++++++++++ASIAN POPULATION-USA – since 19th Century have felt much racism and oppression in USA. +++++++++++++++++++No matter what the popular focus of the moment is, this is a wonderful time for us to take a breath and reexamine our primary goals and mission to others. An appropriate sign on the lawn with a non-partisan message might be a good public communication as to our identity, with the heavy traffic and billboard access we have. Our 322 year history of leadership in ministry to others, is strongly inviting us to revisit who and where we are headed. +++++++++++++++++++Kathy Edwards https://padlet.com/eliferg/h0ql7imjahxqv74t/wish/818740130 2020-10-10 16:34:46 UTC https://padlet.com/eliferg/h0ql7imjahxqv74t/wish/818740130 Let us be that positive force I want to relate Black Lives Matter to a lesson I learned in my “Political Theory” course at Princeton University. My professor gave a historical perspective in the first class about etymology - the study of the origin of words and the way in which their meanings have changed throughout history. Words in different periods and at different times assume meanings that were first advocated by the trailblazers of that period, but then evolved depending on the forces that shaped them. Black Lives Matter is meaningful to us at this juncture because we have all witnessed the sufferings of our black brothers and sisters, and we recognize that the playing field is not fair. Not only have our African American brothers and sisters suffered unfair treatment historically, such as slavery, physical abuse, the Jim Crow laws,.. but they also continue to experience the lack of decent job opportunities, housing, education, healthcare, and treatment in criminal justice system, to name just a few. We owe it to our Black friends and neighbors to show our solidarity in correcting the injustices in our society. It is through our involvement that we will continue to enhance and build positive forces for change. Let us not focus on some violent events that some used against this movement, but on the positive forces that the movement represents. Let us live the Gospel teaching: “For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.” (Mathew 15:35 – 36”). Linda Ma Sung https://padlet.com/eliferg/h0ql7imjahxqv74t/wish/822829569 2020-10-12 20:23:28 UTC https://padlet.com/eliferg/h0ql7imjahxqv74t/wish/822829569