The Pilgrim Path---byFaith ---The ONLINE Magazine of the PCA / Summary

Group of PCA Coordinators and Presidents Issues Statement on "Heinous Killings"

We write as PCA presidents and permanent committee coordinators in light of the heinous killings of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, and the systemic mistreatment of so many other people of color. Only the General Assembly can speak for the PCA at large, and we do not presume to do so here. Yet, as elected leaders of the PCA agencies and permanent committees, we feel compelled to speak clearly on these matters in the interest of gospel healing, unity, and peace. As Christians we seek to submit our vies to the authority of Scripture. As ordained church officers, we are guided by our denomination's confessional standards and previous decisions.

SCRIPTURE:

Scripture's message is clear from the start---all men and women possess dignity and are worthy of great respect because they are created in the image of God (Gen. 1: 27)….We believe that Scripture counts racial injustice (especially that which takes away life from an image bearer) as grave sin, which Christ will judge and against which the church must stand.

CONFESSIONAL & DENOMINATIONAL STATEMENTS:

The denominational materials of the PCA echo these truths of Scripture. The Westminster Larger Catechism 135, reflects on the sixth commandment, and is worth quoting at length:

The duties required in the sixth commandment are, all careful studies, and lawful endeavors, to preserve the life of ourselves and others by resisting all thoughts and purposes, subduing all passions, and avoiding all occasions, temptations, and practices, which tend to the unjust taking away the life of any---; by charitable thoughts, love, compassion, meekness, gentleness, kindness; peaceable, mild, and courteous speeches and behavior: forbearance, readiness to be reconciled, patient bearing and forgiving of injuries, and requiting good for evil; comforting and succoring the distressed, and protecting and defending the innocent.

Our denomination also recognized the importance of naming and standing against racial injustice. In 2016, the General Assembly adopted an overture which resolves:

"...the Presbyterian Church in America does recognize, confess, condemn and repent of corporate and historical sins, including those committed during the Civil Rights era, and continuing racial sins of ourselves and our fathers such as the segregation of worshipers by race; the exclusion of persons from Church membership on the basis of race; the exclusion of churches, or elders, from membership in the Presbyteries on the basis of race; the teaching that the Bible sanctions racial segregation and discourages inter-racial marriage; the participation in the defense of white supremacist organizations; and the failure to live out the gospel imperative that "love does no wrong to a neighbor" (Romans 13: 10).

In view of these Scriptural, confessional, and ecclesial guidelines, we seek to respond to the current racial tensions, as follows:

LAMENT:

We join our voices and hearts with those who suffer and lament the evils of personal and systemic racism in our country, our church, and our own hearts. We cry out with the Psalmist "O LORD, how long shall the wicked exult?" and with the prophet Jeremiah "Why does the way of the wicked prosper? Why do all who are treacherous thrive?" (Ps. 94: 3; Jer. 12: 1). We lament that peaceful protests, offered in good faith to highlight racial injustice, have occasionally turned violent, and we mourn with the victims of that violence, and pray for its end.

PRAY:

As we lament we pray, asking God to bring peace, healing, and reconciliation that feels out of reach as we survey our broken world. We pray for families and communities of those who have been killed and ask God to be near to them in peace and comfort. We pray that God will show us our hidden sins and the blindness which leads us to silent complicity, or even active participation in racial injustice. We pray especially for leaders: political leaders, law enforcement officers, community influencers---church leaders, that they will use their authority with wisdom, to speak with truth and humility---to shun words and actions that humiliate others or fuel violence, and to seek justice and righteousness ahead of comfort, affluence, and the preservation of the status quo. We pray for the Church universal to become a welcoming haven for all kinds of people.

REPENT:

In humility, we repent of our ongoing racial sins. We repent of past silence in the face of racial injustice. We repent of a negligent and willful failure to account for our unearned privilege or to surface the unconscious biases that move us to protect our comfort rather than risk speaking against racial injustice. We repent of hearts that are dull to the suffering of others.

LISTEN:

We pledge to listen to the voices and wisdom of our brothers and sisters who have lived through the demeaning realities of a racialized society and racialized church. We will listen to learn, to empathize, to grow, and by God's grace, to become more aware of how our own biases lead us to demean men and women who are made in God's image.

We realize that merely issuing a statement is insufficient. We need to act, within the spheres where God has given us influence, in the interest of biblical justice for men and women of color. Therefore, we will work within our committees and agencies to identify and apply the gospel to our racial biases. We will seek to honestly assess our programs and practices for structural or systemic biases and work diligently to remedy those we find...

May the Spirit of The Living Christ guide us ALL, Pastor Jason