Forty years ago, the Dutch Reformed Mission Church (DRMC) in South Africa adopted Belydenis van Belhar — the Confession of Belhar — in its first reading. Belhar was an outgrowth of the DRMC’s effort to grapple with the church’s participation in and defense of apartheid and touches prominently on themes of unity, reconciliation and justice. The DRMC adopted Belhar in its final form in 1986.
The Racial Equity Advocacy Committee submits this letter as a loving and justice-oriented response to our colleagues in ministry who call upon REAC to respond to A Message from the Stated Clerk dated January 22 by the Rev. Dr. J. Herbert Nelson, II, Stated Clerk of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), following the Stated Clerk’s letter on the occasion of the Martin Luther King Day holiday.
The Rev. Dr. Clifton Kirkpatrick has announced his retirement from Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary effective at the conclusion of the fall 2021 semester.
Next month, Hopewell Presbyterian Church in Dandridge, Tennessee, will celebrate its 236th year in ministry. While that’s a history to be proud of — Hopewell is one of the oldest churches in the Volunteer State — the church’s pastor, the Rev. Brad Napier, told Between Two Pulpits hosts Bryce Wiebe and Lauren Rogers on Monday that the congregation of 88 members also takes pride in its consistent history of giving, especially through the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)’s Special Offerings and even during the long pandemic, when the church actually saw increased giving and membership growth.
As a Hispanic/Latin community in the United States, we are profoundly concerned about the events that have occurred in the Caribbean country of Cuba. We feel and share the pain of the Cuban people in light of the shortage. of food and medicines and health conditions worsened by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Rev. Dr. Allan Boesak, who co-wrote the Confession of Belhar, led what’s now called the World Communion of Reformed Churches and has lived a hope-filled 75 years despite facing down apartheid and other lesser challenges, asked the McCormick Theological Seminary Class of 2021 a pointed question Saturday during his commencement address: What does it mean to be the church on the inside of an empire in decay?
Racism in South Africa was legally instituted and theologically justified by some churches. It has remained embedded in the fabric of society to this day, manifesting itself in many subtle ways that cause racial discrimination, inequality, violence and ridicule of the “other.”
The Congo Mission Network’s 2020 annual conference was held virtually, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Because of the world’s reaction to the killing by police of George Floyd, an unarmed Black man, the conference focused on the legacy of white supremacy and racism, using the Confession of Belhar as its guide.
The Rev. Dr. J. Herbert Nelson, II, Stated Clerk of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), was among the denominational leaders participating earlier this month in “What Does God Require of Us? Discerning, Confessing, and Witnessing in an Age of COVID-19 and Beyond,” part of the World Communion of Reformed Churches’ Communion-wide discernment process.
The pandemic of 2020 has further exposed disparities in healthcare and social justice and the wealth gap that exists in America. These glaring issues make the works and the words of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., just as relevant today as they were in the 1950s and 1960s.
