Bishop Jay Lambert – Pastoral Letter on Race in America

Dear Family and Friends of the Diocese of Eau Claire,

In the midst of pandemic, difficult economy, military intervention in domestic matters, and an Episcopal Church becoming a photo backdrop after teargas and rubber bullets dispersed a crowd of demonstrators, race again raises its ugly head. As diabetes likes compounding other illnesses that compromise health in the human body, race is the 400 year old problem in the background of our nation’s corporate well being. In a Zoom conversation yesterday with the Province V bishops, two African-American bishops said they didn’t want to write anymore about race. They were exhausted by it and believed white people wouldn’t listen. They asked, “What’s the point?”

For me the killing of George Floyd on Memorial Day could not be more clear. There is video where we can see what happened right in front of us. It is time that we, you and I, accept the sad truth that this is the tip of an ugly iceberg. I grew up believing that the policeman was my friend. Today, if you are not white, the opposite is true. The police are to be feared. If you question this, look again at the video regarding George Floyd. If you were black, isn’t it reasonable you would feel this way?

The iceberg metaphor goes much deeper than race and the police. It is time that we who are called to proclaim the Gospel especially as expressed in the Baptismal Covenant accept a responsibility to do all we can to live fully into the life and teachings of Jesus. This means racism has no place in Christian life. Jesus identified three sins that are contrary to the Gospel. They are: hypocrisy, greed, and hardness of heart. When we promote or comply with racism we are guilty of all three. When we die and stand in judgment, what will you and I say about our attitudes, words, and deeds around race? This is not an intellectual exercise. It threatens our salvation.

Genesis 1:26-27 states that we humans are made in God’s image. Racism wants us to believe that some people are more human than others. The Genesis passage suggests that belittling any human is an attack on God himself. Since racism treats some people as less human than others, God must not be as important as Genesis proclaims. This is spiritual warfare, and it is right for God to inquire, “Where are you on this vital matter?”

I request that you journey with me. Perhaps my story can bring insight into your own life. When I was young I didn’t believe I was racist. I grew up in segregated schools in a restricted neighborhood. I never had a black child as a playmate. When I heard about racism I thought, “How could I be racist when I never encountered someone my age who was anything but white?” I did love and respect the black maids that my mother or grandparents employed. I never thought of myself as a product of white privilege. I went to Church each Sunday. I was a good kid in the neighborhood. I studied hard in school.

The truth is I was hardwired into racial attitudes. In my late teens I was a construction laborer and worked alongside black laborers. I didn’t mind working with blacks but would never consider socializing with them. Why? From childhood I received messages that socializing with people different from me, especially black people, wasn’t safe. This concern for safety was the rationale for loyalty to tribe, my own type. In short I could trust white people but not black. I definitely appreciated and loved the black maids who were so kind to me, but hey functioned within the white culture. In no way would I ever be permitted to visit or stay in their homes.

Working with those black construction laborers first made me aware of the conflict between Jesus and my racist attitudes. In college I wanted to say that my upper middle class upbringing made me different from the blatant racism of middle class and working class whites. In looking back I can see what a hypocrite I had been. My false attitude of believing I was above racial prejudice made me guilty of hardness of heart. I wanted to say, “I got to where I am through hard work alone. Why can’t you as a black person do the same?” In retrospect it was like asking two mechanics to fix my car. One has all the modern tools. The other has just two hands. Which mechanic will succeed? Which will fail? The answer is obvious.

In sharing these insights of my own life, I ask you to look deep inside yourself. The death of George Floyd and our buried racial attitudes are connected. Is the racism latent within us an obstacle to our living into and encouraging others to live into the full image of God? In our owning up to racism it is hard to act in specific situations to repudiate this sin. In striving to be better people we may say or do the wrong thing. Silence is aiding and abetting the problem. Still there is, at long last, a difference. We can be aware of this virus. In accepting failure in one instance God may give us a new opportunity to make a right choice. It is possible that this right choice will be a habit and later a pattern. Finally this new mode of behavior can become a full part of our character. I also believe that when we fail, in the midst of our frustration and tears, God the Father will be with us. Jesus, as Son of God, will teach us, and the Holy Spirit will guide us into the next situation with power and wisdom to help make right what had been wrong.

Please pray for the family of George Floyd. Pray for those protesting. Pray for a true healing of our nation from the sin of racism. Pray for those who lead our country. Finally, pray for yourself. With my love, I remain,

Your brother in Christ,
Jay