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On Race

On Race

by The Reverend Beth Anne Nelson on March 29, 2023

TLDR: Watching  St. Alban’s recent formation course helped me better understand my own need for growth. My prayer is that you will find this useful as well.

I enjoy watching my colleague’s formation lessons in their churches. Recently, there was a class on race from St. Alban’s in Waco, called Race, Justice, and the Church. I was particularly interested because I have begun to see greater racial diversity at St. Dunstan’s right after we added the 1:00 p.m. worship service.

When I saw Rev. Dr. Andrew Armond’s lesson, I was shocked by some of what he had seen around as a child, as well as the history of where he grew-up. Of course, as a Northerner it is easy to see how I could feel shocked: I had never heard of lynchings in the area I grew up. This does not mean that racially driven crimes did not take place. Growing up, I heard about segregation as something that happened elsewhere. Also, I experienced racism primarily through microaggressions and coded language. This can seem subtle and still wrong.

As I continued with the course, I backtracked and heard from Rev. Aaron Zimmerman, how he ended up assimilating to a white cultural view because of his experience as a teenager. Rev. Zimmerman embraced the white cultural values in a way that is often called whitewashing. As a culture, it is helpful to talk about our views and perspectives together. We can learn a great deal from our differences and similarities. 

The third installment of the course was taught by Dr. Rachel Tombs, who grew up in Minnesota. As a midwestern girl, I could relate to some of her experiences. In fact, we have similarities in our worldviews. She pushed back against over assimilation, as well as providing a picture of how racism existed and exists in the town of Waco. Her perspective was valuable in that she is a professor at Baylor and a member of St. Alban’s Episcopal Church.

This is a more difficult post because it is personal and may make you, my friends in Christ uncomfortable. I came to age in an extended family where we believed in talking about tough topics by sweeping them under the rug, decorating the now elephant sized topic with pretty lace, and then moving gently around it in a dance. One of these topics was race, which given some views is probably for the better.

I was sitting in a Diocesan mandated class on diversity when someone said that there is one race and it is that human race. Of course, I believe this and think all people are equal in the sight of God. I believe we are all beloved and no one race is superior or inferior to another. At the same time, growing up I struggled with my own thoughts and the unintentional bias present in my own thinking. The generation I grew up in was one that believed we should be color blind. Yet, our human history and cultural makeup has made it so that this is impossible. We, as Americans, have created a class system that for hundreds of years has been based on race. That is difficult to ignore.

St. Dunstan’s is on the cusp of something new: a life giving growth that involves new cultures, new people, and new races. I have met a great deal of warmth at St. Dunstan’s and still, I think this course is valuable for us to see. Rev. Dr. Armond and his rector, The Rev. Aaron Zimmerman, along with a community expert explore ways in which race has been presented in our lives.

To look at issues around race, I start with my own context. I grew up in a middle class, mostly white suburb of a midwestern town. The area had multiple ethnicities, however, the school where I attended was mostly Caucasian students. I was a quiet child and had four close friends. I kept the rest of my classmates as general, but not close confidants. My parents encouraged color blindness and acceptance. Now, in raising my children, I encourage them to embrace all cultures and learn from them. This includes their own heritage as tenth generation Texans, Slovakians, and French-Canadian. Learning about our own culture helps us understand how we are different from others. If you would like to talk personally about this blog, please reach out to me. There is almost nothing that I love more than meeting with parishioners. My prayer for you is that you are able to see and feel the Spirit with you as you consider the topic of race in your own life.

For His Sake,

Mtr. Beth Anne +

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