Dear Caldwell,
Sometimes, in understanding what something has become, it helps to look at its origin. The word “privilege” came into being 1,000 years ago to refer to a “private law,” that is a law that applied to only some people. The idea evolved to include “advantages enjoyed by a person or body of persons beyond the common advantages of other individuals.” In other words, special rights or favors granted to some but not others, whether or not they have earned them.
This is on my mind this week because I am spending a lot of time with a new friend and teacher, Dr. Eddie Moore. In 1999, he founded an annual conversation that moves from city to city each year called The White Privilege Conference. That’s a phrase some of us have come to understand more deeply in recent years. But can you imagine advancing that idea 23 years ago at a vastly different time in our national conversation about race? That’s what I call vision – and courage.
Dr. Moore is in Charlotte this week to meet with a range of individuals and organizations to build awareness and support for the conference, which will be held March 9-12, 2022 at the Charlotte Convention Center uptown. For the first time ever, thanks to the leadership of the Charlotte Presbytery in landing the conference, the WPC (as it is known) will center the role of religion, past, present and future, in both protecting white privilege and deconstructing it. Our theme is Wade in the Water: White Supremacy, Religion and Reciprocity and several top authors and speakers will be featured, along with workshops on a wide variety of topics.
I lead the committee to obtain sponsorships and am spending several hours with him this week. We’re talking with a range of people about what is admittedly a difficult subject. But that shouldn’t mean we can’t talk about it and hear all sides. Hearing him talk about the vital role of the conference, despite the pushback he gets over the name (which he says is non-negotiable), is inspiring. In our conversations, some people tell us that we risk pushing people away and, in so doing, might not ever get a chance to build a bridge of understanding. That’s a valid and complicated reality in these days. Dr. Moore responds by saying he has been “jailed” by such resistance, as in people backing away from the conversation, for too long.
On Wednesday, Nov. 3 at 1:30, he will be at The Pauline Tea-Bar, a cool black-owned business, to talk a little about the conference if you’d like to come. I look forward to an upcoming opportunity to share more, including how you can be involved. If you want to know more sooner, feel free to reach out.
Ongoing Renewal
The chance to act out our faith and sense of God’s justice in so many ways is part of how our life together as the body of Christ at Caldwell. In that life together we are renewed over and over again, as the Lord refreshes our sense of calling, purpose and opportunity.
Yesterday, I was renewed in altogether other ways by walking through and around the new community hall as contractors scurry to finish later this month. On Sunday, many will walk together in the CROP Walk to fight hunger. Your Elder Nominating Committee us busy listening for the Holy Spirit’s guidance to determine whose names to present to you on Nov. 21 for election to fill 5 seats on the session.
God is stirring in all these things and so many more. More than 100 church families of individual members have come alongside our Lord with their pledge of tithes and offerings for 2022. We have big dreams, big callings and equally big responsibilities with all that we have been given to do. Our budget goal for pledges is $500,000.
Have we heard from you? We need more people to jump in, financially and in other ways, for 2022 to fully fund our budget. If you haven’t already, please prayerfully consider what you can do and click here to join the effort. A hearty thank you in advance on behalf of all whose lives you will touch.
Prayers and More
In any week, our members and friends face a range of challenges that call for our prayerful support. Some are more private than others. But they all welcome your thoughts and good words to our Lord. This week, that includes people undergoing surgery, at a career crossroads, traveling to see family, mourning the loss of a loved one and watching loved ones decline in health. God knows their names and circumstances more than we ever will. AND your prayers make a difference.
This coming Sunday is All Saints Sunday and your staff leadership is shaping worship that will allow us to both mourn those dear friends we have joined the saints and find comfort in scripture’s reassurance of what comes next for them and for all of us.
A full run-down comes Friday in Caldwell This Week.
In Christ,
John