Session Invite to a November 6 Conversation

On October 11, 2022, the Session voted to endorse a letter to the President advocating that he issue an executive order creating a federal commission to study the nature and effects of slavery and to develop reparation proposals in response to the injustices done to African Americans. This letter, recommended to the Session for endorsement by Western's Antiracism Interest Group, was written by the Interfaith Sacred Conversation on Race and Diversity and signed by other people of faith. (Full text will be shared soon.)

We have taken this step as an expression of our commitment to antiracism and intercultural change, considering, in particular, the history of the Presbyterian Church’s engagement in public advocacy, the Session’s responsibility for discerning and promoting the spiritual interests of the congregation, and our congregation’s aim of becoming a courageous community living into God’s love and justice.

We feel that this letter, and our endorsement of it, offers an important opportunity to invite the congregation to participate in a conversation both about reparations and the broader questions of race-based harm and repair, and about the guiding principles and practices the Session uses in discernment and decision-making.

Please join us on November 6 to participate in that conversation.

More information to come soon.