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Thoughts About Race, From Beyond the Pulpit
In his Easter sermon, the Rev. Steve Proctor, top, spoke about resurrection rather than racial issues. Susan Shearouse said a church might be the place for such a discussion. "If not here, then where?" she asked.
(By Melina Mara -- The Washington Post)
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Frank Bertrand, the church's lay leader, said the country has been ready to have a frank discussion about race for more than a generation. Yet he acknowledged it would be difficult to bring it up without setting parameters. People are more inclined to speak openly if non-threatening questions are asked and they know "what to expect and what the objectives are," he said.
"Anytime we see a race-relations issue, we should address it as a church," he said. "I don't think the church should use Sunday to tell people how they shouldn't act but how they ought to act."
Kathleen Hall Jamieson, co-author of a soon-to-be published book, "Presidents Creating the Presidency: Deeds Done in Words," said she is not sure Obama's speech will spark a national conversation about race.
"A political problem does not create the type of moment that leads to a national dialogue," she said. "It was a beautifully crafted speech; it is not a speech capable of transforming the environment."
Americans need to be in the right frame of mind to talk about race, Jamieson said; they are far more likely to be altruistic when they are not thinking about putting gas in their car, feeding their families and holding on to their jobs.
"Even if this were the right speech, by the right candidate, now is not the right time to have the discussion, if you want to maximize the impact on the audience," she said. "What it does forecast is a tacit promise of that conversation occurring if he becomes president. His presidency would create the moment in which the country will rethink itself."
Good Shepherd has a Sunday school class titled Faith Meets Life that examines "what it means to live out a life of faith in light of daily life in our country." Members of the class say it is a place where they can take on the tough questions and explore answers in a supportive environment. They watched Michael Moore's documentary on American health care, "Sicko," and Al Gore's documentary on climate change, "An Inconvenient Truth."
Shearouse, who attends the class, said it might be the place to begin to tackle the complex issue of race.
