One hundred years ago Knox Presbyterian Church accepted a gift — worth $250,000 in today’s dollars — for a church of the white race only. The congregation, led by the Rev. Adam Fronczek, confessed that tragic history in 2020. The church also made a commitment to a racial justice ministry, which it’s funding at $50,000 a year.
One hundred years ago Knox Presbyterian Church accepted a gift — worth $250,000 in today’s dollars — for a church of the white race only. The congregation, led by the Rev. Adam Fronczek, confessed that tragic history in 2020. The church also made a commitment to a racial justice ministry, which it’s funding at $50,000 a year.
During a candid panel discussion held as part of the NEXT Church national gathering last week, leaders talked about antiracism work that’s been going on within the organization and the bumps in the road they’ve encountered striving toward greater inclusivity, especially among leadership.
The gift of $22,000, which after legal fees would be worth around $250,000 in today’s dollars, was given to Knox Presbyterian Church in Cincinnati exactly 100 years ago to aid the congregation in constructing a new church. But according to Knox’s pastor, the Rev. Adam Fronczek, there was “some lore” in the congregation about the gift, which came from a woman who wanted to be buried inside the walls of the church.
Ever since discovering their church was built a century ago partly through funds donated “for the white race only,” the 1,200 or so members and the leadership of Knox Presbyterian Church in Cincinnati, Ohio, have worked hard not to duck the church’s history, but to learn from it and to, in tangible ways, reach out and make connections that make it clear where the church is headed during the next 100 years: ending the sin of systemic racism.
