This past week the denomination I serve, the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, had our General Assembly. For the past several years, we held our General Assembly concurrently with our sibling denomination, the Cumberland Presbyterian Church in America. The story of the two denominations that share a confession, a constitution, a directory of worship, and almost all other documents is more complicated than I could explain here. It is certainly more complicated than I even know.
To summarize, the Cumberland Presbyterian Church in America was formed in the years after the Civil War by Black Cumberland Presbyterians who wanted to have their own churches, autonomy, and the ability to determine their own direction as a denomination. The result is that in 2019 we still have two different denominations of Cumberland Presbyterians based almost solely on race.
Our General Assemblies have been working together toward unification for many years. There have been several major attempts, and some have come very close to unifying, but so far we remain two separate institutions.
Last week at our concurrent General Assembly meetings, both assemblies voted to send the plan for union to the presbyteries of our churches as part of the unification process. We may be on the road to finally coming together as one denomination again.
From one point of view, it seems that there is no reason we would not be unified. All the major documents are shared. All the theological statements are shared. Our form of government is the same. When I first looked at this issue, it seemed there was an easy solution. But I was naïve.
I work hard to try to see the world through eyes other than my own. I know I can never fully understand what a woman goes through or what a member of the LGBTQ community goes through or what an immigrant to the United States goes through, as hard as I might try. And I can never understand what a Person of Color goes through in the United States.
I did receive some clues as this process has gone on. Some of the resistance has been about things that might not have occurred to me. There is fear about the way each church will be represented. Will the Cumberland Presbyterian Church in America simply be swallowed up and no longer have a voice in the church? There is fear about the use of property by the new church. In our system, Presbyteries own property, not local churches, and there is fear that the presbytery will sell the properties of some churches to benefit others.
Initially these scenarios seemed unlikely to me. But I have to realize that this is the way history has treated my Black sisters and brothers. They have been discriminated against, not allowed to register to vote, their property has been given to whites, their voices have been drowned out. I know I can't see things from their point of view accurately, but when fears like these are voiced, I have to try to see why these fears are real. And I have to conclude, they are very real, because that is the lived reality of a Black person in the United States.
Once again, I hope to be aware enough that I can pledge to stand with those who have been mistreated, abused, overlooked, and ignored. I only know part of the stories of the people who have been treated this way, but I hope to hear your stories, stand with you while you take the lead for your autonomy, and work with you for justice. I believe God intends an end to injustice, favoritism, prejudice, and all forms of abuse, systematic and individual. If you are a white, straight, cisgendered man like me, we have to lay down some of our privilege and listen. Listen to how others have been mistreated by people like us.
Then we can hope to begin to heal the divides.
May God help us.
That's the view from where I stand today...
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