“The Lord has shown you what is good.
He has told you what he requires of you.
You must act with justice.
You must love to show mercy.
And you must be humble as you live in the sight of your God.” (Micah 6:8)
We at the Center for Relational Care are mourning with the black community over the horrific killings of black individuals, most recently, George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and David Dorn. We condemn these horrific acts.
We recognize and are grieved by the long history of injustice for African Americans in our country, including slavery, Jim Crow laws, and other forms of dehumanization and systemic oppression.
As fellow humans created in the image of God and fellow citizens of this country, we not only grieve these injustices, we cry out for justice and healing for the victims’ families and friends, and for all of our neighbors and people of color who have experienced decades of trauma.
As an organization, we stand in solidarity with our brothers and sisters of color. We stand with those who are peacefully protesting, and we say with them, “This injustice has to end.”
We are also committed to caring for the trauma that so many have experienced for decades in the form of systemic oppression and dehumanization. We are committed to listening and learning, to maintaining a posture of humility, and to providing a safe space and safe relationships for care, comfort, and healing. As we stand with our black brothers and sisters, we are committed to doing our part to remove the aloneness that so many are feeling, as they have been unheard for centuries in our nation.
We are grateful for law enforcement agencies and personnel who are serving our nation with honor, integrity, and care for human life. We pray that God would give them wisdom, compassion, and patience as they serve to protect us. At the same time, we denounce criminal acts, and call for just punishment against such acts.
Finally, as we are listening and learning to grow in our understanding and practice of social justice, we are also committed to training others, including churches, to listen well, to minister to hurt, and to pursue healing and restoration as we seek to stand as beacons of truth and light in our hurting nation.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. once said, “In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.” At the Center for Relational Care, we are committed to healthy relationships, and we will not be silent towards the injustices that others experience. We will strive to do justice, love mercy, and live humbly in the sight of God.
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