At Mount Olivet, we think about our neighbors a lot. We give away ten percent of our budget to community organizations outside Mount Olivet, and when we decided to remodel our building last year, we knew that it would primarily benefit people outside our congregation, especially through our weekly community meal.
We do this because we believe that God is made known in community. Each of us has something to give and something to receive, and we join God’s unfolding story when we connect with others to hear and proclaim good news to each other.
Good news is not confined to the sermons we preach; it’s so much broader than that. To a hungry person, good news might look like a loaf of bread. To a lonely person, good news might look like somebody who cares. Good news can take many forms, and we are called to proclaim it with all we have: our time, our imagination, our money, our voices, and even our church’s building and grounds.
This summer has been filled with news that is bad. We continue to experience disruption to our lives as the COVID-19 pandemic unfolds, and, in the midst of this upheaval, we are grieving and making sense of the deep and persistent racial inequities in our city and nation, brought to light again by the murder of George Floyd and the uprising that followed.
How do we find our place in God’s unfolding story in this context? What good news for our neighbors are we meant to proclaim? How are we meant to join with others who are already proclaiming it?
Mount Olivet’s church council has been asking these questions and rightfully searching for a way we can speak beyond the walls of our church into what’s happening in the world. This month, they adopted guidance around placing signage on the church property relating to efforts for justice in society and social change. We want to lend our support and commitment to movements that bring good news by bringing justice. The first sign that will be displayed at church, unanimously approved by the council, is a Black Lives Matter yard sign, which will be displayed until the end of the calendar year.
Let’s be clear, this sign does not mean we have everything figured out.
This sign is aspirational, and our predominantly white church is not an expert on racial justice – we are still learning along with so many. It is our hope that this sign keeps us accountable to the work of race equity.
Nor does this sign mean that Black lives are the only lives that matter. God has chosen to place God’s image in every human. By proclaiming Black Lives Matter, we acknowledge the ways that our society has acted as if they don’t, and we begin to envision a world in which all people are seen and valued.
Finally, this sign does not mean we are endorsing any political platform or candidate. Our yard sign is a statement that comes from our faith commitments, not our partisan ones.
What this sign does mean is that we see the struggle for racial justice as good news. When Black people claim the dignity they’ve always had in a system that has been reluctant to afford it to them, that is good news. When white people and others stop to reconsider their worldview and imagine how they can be a part of making space in society for others to thrive, that is good news. And when people walk or drive by Mount Olivet and make the connection that God has something to say about what we see in the world, that is good news.
We affirm that Black lives matter, and we believe that speaking this to our community is one way we are joining God’s work of bringing good news to the world.
We hope that the placement of this sign will be good news to you, too. We trust that each of us has been grappling with race this summer, and if a conversation would be helpful to you on your journey, please reach out to Pastors Beth and Joel, the church council whose names are listed below, or members of the newly formed Mount Olivet Racial Equity Team who you will meet this fall.
We are committed to engaging with each around race.
We have heard from many of you that you need a place to start talking about race and equity, so beginning on September 22, we will have a 5 week series on Tuesdays from 7:30-9pm via zoom called “From Moment to Movement: Conversations and Tools to Build Equity.” The Mount Olivet Racial Equity (MORE) Team, along with trainer Joayne Larson, will lead interactive and conversation-based sessions focused on the skills and awareness we need to be effective allies and culturally-aware community members. You can register on our website.
Regardless of how much or how little you’ve talked about race, we invite you to participate. Every one of us has a role to play in building racial equity, and we hope this series helps you find yours.
We miss seeing you, and cannot wait until we can safely gather to worship and be community together. You are good news to us.
Pastor Beth and Pastor Joel
Mount Olivet Church Council
Bob Swanson, Dawn Strommen, Joe Himmelberg, Thad Lightfoot, Lindsay Bondy, Mike Scott, Lauren Schroeder, Paul Nelson, Brenna Erdmann
The Mount Olivet Racial Equity Team