Joint Statement Affirming Black Lives Matter

From the Moderator Teams of:

Happy to be a Presbyterian–PC(USA)
PC(USA) Leaders
Women of the PC(USA)

With Concurrence from:

YCW & Alumni of the PC(USA)
Young PC(USA) Leaders

July 25, 2020

As members of the Presbyterian Church – PC(USA), we affirm that Black Lives Matter in accordance with our confessions and denominational statements. We recognize that Black, Indigenous, Latinx, Hispanic, Arab, Asian, and other People of Color have never been fully represented or included in the word “All.”

The Parable of the Sheep and the Goats in Matthew 25 reminds us that whatever we do for those most marginalized by our society, we do also for Christ; and conversely, whatever we fail to do for those most marginalized by our society, we fail also to do for Christ.

For this reason we now turn to our group membership and ask for an end to posts or comments arguing in favor of ‘All Lives Matter.’ These comments are hurtful and fail to hear the pain and suffering of our Black siblings. While we affirm the fundamental equality and human dignity of all human beings, we also note with grave concern the deep, inherently destructive, and often fatal disparities in systems of justice and law enforcement; housing; banking and financial wealth; education; employment; healthcare; neighborhood infrastructure; social services, and more, as they particularly impact our Black siblings in this country.

In addition, we will not tolerate the posting of unfounded ‘conspiracy’ theories or articles from disreputable sources regarding the Black Lives Matter movement. We are a denomination that values education and we expect diligence and due care to be taken when citing sources.

While we wish to encourage discussion from a broad range of views, we must insist that these discussions be healthy, well bounded, and appropriate. The use of inflammatory words and phrases prevents such a discussion. The use of the phrase “All Lives Matter” is specifically in violation of the expectations of these groups and will not be allowed. We recommend instead, for those wishing to be inclusive of other marginalized groups, using the statement, “All Lives can’t matter until Black Lives Matter.”

In addition, following the lead of our denomination, we direct our collective group membership to recognize the ongoing work of the Poor People’s Campaign, led by Rev. Dr. William John Barber II and Rev. Dr. Liz Theoharis, to unite the struggles of multiple marginalized groups seeking equality and justice. The work of this Campaign, which has its roots in the work of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, should become a fundamental part of each members’ education and training in anti-racism work. A study of this movement, led largely by Black, Indigenous, and other People of Color, while often overlooked by white Christians, provides a response to the perhaps well-intentioned but misguided question, “why aren’t ‘they’ doing anything about other groups’ struggles for equality and justice?”

We also caution our collective group membership against the perhaps well-intentioned but misguided practice of using the parable of the Lost Sheep as an analogy to the Black Lives Matter Movement, as it may convey the assumption that Black people are ‘lost.’ Better Biblical analogies may be found in the story of Exodus, Hagar and Ishmael, or Esther, each as stories of systemic abuses of power and the struggles for liberation against them.

What we do here, in these social media forums, matters. With a collective membership of 15,000-20,000, our groups are perhaps the largest, most interactive, daily relational experiences among groups of Presbyterians across our denomination and nation. This may be even more true in this season of pandemic separation from our usual patterns of gathering as a church body. Matthew 25:29 reminds us that to whom much has been given, much will be expected. We have the collective power to set the tone for our ways of being together online, as well as extending outward into our congregations and ministries; our communities; our presbyteries, synods, General Assembly, and beyond.

PC(USA) policies and guidance informing this statement:

Racial Ethnic and Women’s Ministries Anti-Racism Campaign statement affirming BLM
www.pcusa.org/speakantiracism.

A statement from the Stated Clerk of the PC(USA)
https://vimeo.com/424168164

The Belhar Confession
https://www.presbyterianmission.org/resource/belhar-confession/

Poor People’s Campaign:
https://www.poorpeoplescampaign.org/

PC(USA) support for the Poor People’s Campaign:
https://www.presbyterianmission.org/story/pcusa-ministries-supportive-of-poor-peoples-campaign-platform/

Matthew 25 Campaign:
https://www.presbyterianmission.org/ministries/matthew-25/

Signed,

Moderator Teams (of the following groups)

Happy to be Presbyterian -PC(USA) (13,800+ Members)

Moderators:

Rev. Laura M Cheifetz
Rev. Le Anne Clausen de Montes
Rev. Dr. Tom Eggebeen
Rev. Larry Green
Rev. Rebecca Harrison (Honorably Retired)
Matthew Ray