Guest commentary by Beth Brown
During the week of July 4th, I was at Lake Tahoe with 70 people enjoying what is called “The Zephyr Experience.” We were staying at the Zephyr Cove Presbyterian Camp and Conference Center, which has to be one of the most beautiful settings the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) has to offer. The Zephyr Experience goes back more than 40 years. Initially it was a partnership between the San Jose, San Francisco and Redwoods Presbyteries. Today it continues to be a partnership between Redwoods and San Jose Presbyteries. It was designed to be an educational experience for all ages with some renowned speakers giving classes. I first went in 1998 and was fortunate enough to be able to take a class with Sasha Makovkin, an amazing potter and pastor who would preach sermons while throwing pots (in the way potters do, not in the classic sense of throwing!). During the class that week, I learned how to make a ceramic hand flute and a vase. More importantly, Sasha spoke of the love a potter has for the clay and other scriptural images. He was gifted in his ability to bring Scripture to life through his preaching and hands. Fast forward to July 2016. My purpose in being at The Zephyr Experience was that I was asked to teach a class on “How to Be White in the Conversation About Race.” Despite not knowing who the participants would be, I jumped at the chance.
While I am not an expert on race or on being white, necessarily, I am passionate about doing my own work around race and passionate about inviting others who are white to do theirs. During Lent this year, I led a group of 12 from my congregation through a six-week study on race. Together we learned so much. In January, I participated in a one-day course that the Presbytery of Chicago sponsored on systemic racism. The course was led by representatives from Crossroads and Chicago ROAR (Regional Organizing for AntiRacism). The course gave me some tools to share with others, including a great exercise that helps white people understand more deeply and clearly the concept of white supremacy. My own addition to the training has to do with how to acknowledge and heal the shame that gets in the way of being able to have constructive conversations with others about race. We don’t heal the shame by dumping it on people of color, we heal it by doing the work amongst ourselves.
My group last week at the Zephyr Experience was white and older. Most of the people who came to my class were over the age of 65. There was only one man and 10 women. Many were Presbyterian and some were Episcopalian. We dove right into the facts of white privilege and white supremacy. We talked about race as a social and political construct designed to benefit those with power. What I found amazing and so encouraging is how eager each one was to do their work around race. There is an assumption in our society that once you get to be older, you get stuck in your ways. That was not at all my experience with this group. They had great questions, they confessed the ways they had failed, they wanted to know how to make a way forward.
What was extraordinary about engaging in our work together was that while we were meeting in such a spectacular and serene setting, white police officers in Louisiana and Minnesota shot Alton Sterling and Philando Castile. The Black Lives Matter protests were planned all over the country and then we heard the terrible news that five police officers were shot and killed in Dallas and others were wounded. While I was grieving the fact that I was not in Chicago to take part in the protest happening there, I was struck by the work I had been doing all week to change the lives and perspectives of some other white folks. We each left Lake Tahoe with a renewed sense of urgency, greater self-awareness, and some tools to become interrupters. If every white Presbyterian could do that with 10 of their white friends or congregation members, we would get to justice and freedom much sooner. During the week I had to answer the question about why we don’t say “all lives matter” and why it isn’t a good idea to ask a black congregation to help us do our work. I don’t mind speaking to issues that seem very basic and to some, obvious. If you are someone who is willing to ask the question, it means you are interested and you want to know and learn. That interest and willingness to learn gives me great hope. The Zephyr Experience is open to Presbyterians all across the country and all are invited!
BETH BROWN has been ordained for almost 25 years and has specialized in transitional ministry, mediation and spiritual direction. Beth is currently serving as pastor for Lincoln Park Presbyterian Church in Chicago. She has two young adult daughters, Emily and Anna.
