| Dear GFBC Family, We invite you to come to our lawn tomorrow and join in the action described in the following letter from Cary-area clergy. Signs are provided; please bring your own water and masks. |
| As pastors and leaders of predominantly white congregations and faith-based institutions in Cary, NC, we invite congregants from faith organizations in Cary to stand with us this Saturday as we demonstrate our support for black leaders in our community leading the fight against racial injustice. At 3:30pm on Saturday, June 6, we will gather on each of our church lawns, which sit on major intersections across town, and hold signs declaring our lament for the recent murders of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and George Floyd, and articulate our support for the larger movement against systemic racism and police brutality. We will commit ourselves to do the work that we need to do as predominantly white congregations to dismantle white supremacy in our own institutions and society at large. All are welcome, and we especially encourage white people to come and stand in solidarity with their siblings of color. With masks and while practicing social distancing, we will hold signs on each of our properties silently for 8 minutes and 56 seconds, the same amount of time that Derek Chauvin held his knee to George Floyd’s throat, to express our outrage over Floyd’s murder and the systemic racism that continues to kill black and brown people in our nation every day. This work is long delayed; we are merely committing to do what has been left undone for so long. It is long past time for those of us who benefit from the power and privilege of white skin to mobilize that power and privilege alongside our siblings of color to bend the moral arc of the universe towards justice, to put ourselves at risk for the cause of liberation, and to follow the black, brown, and indigenous leaders who have the expertise and moral authority to take us where we must go together. If you are unable to gather on your own church property because of COVID19 restrictions, you may join the community of Greenwood Forest Baptist Church on their lawn at 110 SE Maynard Road (corner of Kildaire Farm and Maynard Road). After we demonstrate our commitment to action and justice on our properties in Cary, we will show our commitment to following black leadership in this struggle by joining the leaders of the Raleigh Interdenominational Ministerial Alliance (RIMA) who are hosting a prayer walk for Social and Racial Justice at 5:00pm. Those who are able will leave Cary and gather at the Duke Center for the Performing Arts located at 2 East South Street, Raleigh, NC 27601. We will join RIMA in walking and praying for social and racial justice. No placards or signs containing profanity, obscenity or vulgarity are allowed. From the Duke Center for the Performing Arts, the walk will continue on Fayetteville Street to the Old State Capitol grounds, where faith leaders will address those gathered. We pray that this show of solidarity will help to transform us as we commit to put into practice what we preach—that to our God, black lives matter. This is a step in our long-term, sustained action to eradicate ourselves, our churches, and our communities in Cary of the sin of white supremacy once and for all. If you are unable to join us in person for the action on Saturday, here is a list of actions allies can take to support the movement. We also hope this list will be a starting point for us all, as we put into action the commitments we will make to our siblings of color on Saturday. Rev. Lauren Efird, Senior Pastor Rev. Dr. Stephen Stacks, Associate Pastor Rev. Wesley Spears-Newsome, Associate Pastor Greenwood Forest Baptist Church Rev. Carla Gregg-Kearns, Pastor Min. Linda Velto, Associate Pastor Good Shepherd United Church of Christ Rev. Chris Furr Covenant Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) Rev. Dr. Wolfgang D. Herz-Lane Rev. Athena Thomasson-Bless Christ the King Lutheran Church Howard Manning Dorcas Ministries Rev. Ben Adams, Pastor of First on Chatham First United Methodist Church Cary (more signatories at this link) |
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