Photo by James Eades on Unsplash
As 2024 began, I wanted to be more intentional in my personal anti-racism growth and practices. I felt the need to be more engaged, to be more sensitive to violent, racist, events that take place. I want to seek a balance between ignoring events on the one hand and being overwhelmed by them on the other. I want to give witness to such events, to recognize the pain and trauma, to honor the victims, and yet, after an appropriate time, to let the pain pass through me. I believe that, for me, this is part of following Jesus.
So I developed what I am calling my 2024 Anti-Racism Spiritual Discipline. My discipline involves five steps.
- I will watch and listen for violent, racist, events that directly impact at least one individual.
- When such an event occurs, I will make it a point to read the news. I will not allow myself to avoid the horrible details of the event, by just reading the headlines. I will dig deep into the reporting. I will note of the names of the primary victims and perpetrators.
- I will pray for all involved by name for 30 days. I will listen to the Holy Spirit and pray for the victims and perpetrators. I will seek compassion for all. I may download and print pictures to help make these people personal to me. I will pray that the pain will pass through me so that I may know it, but not carry it. I will pray it onto Jesus’ broad shoulders.
- I will make a $50 donation, up to $1200 for the year, to a charity that supports victims of racist violence. When I send in the donation, I will include a paragraph about this spiritual discipline and support of these victims.
- I will use my blog to introduce this discipline, share the experience of living it through the year, and to reflect upon how God might be changing me through this experience.
My goal with all of this is to be a more faithful ally to those who are oppressed, silenced, treated as less than human, or taken advantage of in so many other possible ways.
On Martin Luther King, Jr. weekend, I started my first practice of the above discipline. The particular event I have been considering is the 2020 death of Manny Ellis while in the custody of the Tacoma police. Manny died after being hog-tied and with police officers kneeling or sitting on his back while he complained, “I can’t breathe.” This was just a couple months before George Floyd was killed in a similar incident in Minneapolis.
Since MLK weekend, I’ve read lots of the news articles, both old and new about Manny’s death. I have been praying for Manny and his two children, for his mother Marcia, and his sister Monet. I have also been praying for the three police officers directly involved in Manny’s death: Christopher Burbank, Timothy Rankine, and Matthew Collins. I have pictures of all these people in my prayer journal.
As I complete this initial exercise of my spiritual discipline, I will share my experience here. Watch for it in the next couple weeks.
God bless,
Coe
Yes, I cry a lot sometimes. As I learn about the physical agony of Christ, I feel that the emotional pains were incomprehensible. Blessing to you Coe, in Jesus’s name. Jan
Unfortunately, the people who need to do this are not the ones who will. You have tremendous compassion already.
Bless you in His name.
Thank you for sharing this discipline with us, Coe. Honestly, I have a lump in my throat from reading your post. What a beautiful and powerful way to pray. What a courageous way to connect and learn so deeply about yourself and about our God. I believe Jesus must do this for us, have our name and our picture on His heart, praying for us always, bearing our pain, and, watching as our hearts grow from healing.
I have a prayer I use daily, but I think now I’ll add their pictures as well.
Pease be with you as you move along in your journey, Coe.
I admire your willingness to bear witness to atrocities you could choose to look away from. Your discipline reminds me of a definition of sacrificial giving I learned from a couple who spoke to my seminary class about stewardship. This was their definition “Sacrificial giving is giving until it requires a change in our lifestyle.” You my pastor friend are choosing to forego your privilege to remain ignorant for the sake of knowing the truth of what life is like on the daily for people of color living in a society that values white skin above all others. I applaud and appreciate you for taking on this discipline and allowing yourself to changed.
I like your steps. God and his followers are blessed to have you thinking about them and praying for them. I still feel you are being hard on yourself, but I understand your desire to do better, be more engaged and share your struggles. love you Coe
Thank you, DeeDee. Always good to hear from you.
God bless,
Coe