Anti-Racism Statement
Springdale Presbyterian Church
Louisville, Kentucky
Springdale Presbyterian Church, as part of the universal Church of Jesus Christ, is compelled to bear witness to Christ’s commands to love, honor, and care for all people. As a congregation of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), we are guided by our Book of Confessions, including The Confession of Belhar, which states, in part:
"We believe that the church as the possession of God must stand where the Lord stands, namely against injustice and with the wronged; that in following Christ the church must witness against all the powerful and privileged who selfishly seek their own interests and thus control and harm others."
As Presbyterians, we acknowledge the importance of confession and lament. Therefore, we affirm that:
We lament each tragic incidence of racially motivated physical and social violence against our siblings who are people of color.
We confess that our actions and inactions make us complicit in our nation’s failure to address underlying racism.
Repentance requires us to change. We must turn away from sin and toward God and neighbor. Therefore, as just a first step in what must be a long and ongoing process, we will:
We make these affirmations and commitments in recognition of the sovereignty of God and the Lordship of Christ. We offer them at this particular critical time in church and civil history as a clear statement of core beliefs to our current and future members, and to the community at large.
Approved by the Session
Springdale Presbyterian Church
Louisville KY
November 19, 2020
"We believe that the church as the possession of God must stand where the Lord stands, namely against injustice and with the wronged; that in following Christ the church must witness against all the powerful and privileged who selfishly seek their own interests and thus control and harm others."
As Presbyterians, we acknowledge the importance of confession and lament. Therefore, we affirm that:
- Race is a social construct and not a genetic one;
- Racism is sin and occurs when racial prejudice combines with social or institutional power and is used to impose that prejudice to benefit one race at the expense of another;
- White supremacy is sin and is the belief that white people are superior to people of all other races and should dominate society; and
- Social structures - government, economy, education, healthcare, justice, and other systems - bear the effects of our national legacy of colonization, slavery, and white supremacy embedded within them.
We lament each tragic incidence of racially motivated physical and social violence against our siblings who are people of color.
We confess that our actions and inactions make us complicit in our nation’s failure to address underlying racism.
Repentance requires us to change. We must turn away from sin and toward God and neighbor. Therefore, as just a first step in what must be a long and ongoing process, we will:
- Pray without ceasing that “justice will roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream” (Amos 5:24 NRSV);
- Seek wisdom, perspective, and guidance wherever it may be found, especially from leaders of color;
- Speak and act in solidarity with others against systems that perpetuate racism, white privilege, violence, fear, or hate; and
- Ensure that our church polity is designed to achieve racial justice and equity.
We make these affirmations and commitments in recognition of the sovereignty of God and the Lordship of Christ. We offer them at this particular critical time in church and civil history as a clear statement of core beliefs to our current and future members, and to the community at large.
Approved by the Session
Springdale Presbyterian Church
Louisville KY
November 19, 2020