Anti-racism Vision Statement for First PResbyterian Church of Mt Pleasant, Iowa
The Bible insistently reveals that God loves diversity and justice. This is seen in the wide variety of creation in which God delights. It is heard in the words of the prophets, who reject oppression and commend justice as true worship. It is embodied in the life and ministry of Jesus Christ, who resists the power of empire and values all persons, regardless of status, as children of God. Jesus gathered a community of people around him that crossed over every social and cultural boundary. Those who had been set apart were brought together: poor and rich, male and female, gentile and Jew, centurion and tax collector, Canaanite, Galilean, and Syrophoenician. Jesus called this community together in anticipation of, and participation in, the coming of the new creation.
Racism is the opposite of what God intends for humanity. It is the rejection of the other, which is entirely contrary to the Word of God incarnate in Jesus Christ. It is a form of idolatry that elevates human-made hierarchies of value over divinely-given free grace. Racism is a lie about our fellow human beings, for it says that some are less than others. It is also a lie about God, for it falsely claims that God favors parts of creation over the entirety of creation.
Because of our biblical understanding of who God is and what God intends for humanity, the PC(USA) must stand against, speak against, and work against racism. Antiracist effort is not optional for Christians. It is an essential aspect of Christian discipleship, without which we fail to proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ.
While recognizing that racism victimizes many different racial ethnic groups, we acknowledge its unique impact on the African American community. Anti-black racism has been a structural component of the United States from the beginning. The Constitution defined an African American as three-fifths of a person, denying their full humanity. The economic foundations of the United States were built on slave labor. The legal system of the United States has consistently perpetuated the subjugation of African Americans throughout the history of the nation.
Given the particular forms that anti-black racism has taken in the United States of America both historically (including slavery and Jim Crow) and today (including mass incarceration, disproportionate policing, economic inequality, and continuing acts of racially oriented violence and hate), we state clearly: GOD LOVES BLACK and BROWN LIVES who were created equally in the image of God. Too many have denied this basic truth for too long. As followers of Jesus Christ, we must stand against racism in all its forms.
Finally, as Presbyterians we know something about work. While aspects of the Protestant work ethic may be problematic, to the degree that it signifies our determination, persistence, and stubborn strength, we embrace it in this regard: we commit ourselves to DO THE WORK of countering racism in our witness to the Gospel. In our affirmation that God loves difference, we will honor diversity as a good in which God delights. In our conviction that God desires justice, we will learn from others to broaden our understanding of equality. In our humility as sinful people, we will listen openly to diverse voices regarding how racism functions in our society. In our gratitude for God’s grace, we will turn again and again towards the vision of whole community found in the Word of God. In our joyous response to God’s love, we will love one another.
Adapted by the First Presbyterian Church of Mount Pleasant
from the PC(USA) Church wide Anti-Racism Policy Vision Statement
Racism is the opposite of what God intends for humanity. It is the rejection of the other, which is entirely contrary to the Word of God incarnate in Jesus Christ. It is a form of idolatry that elevates human-made hierarchies of value over divinely-given free grace. Racism is a lie about our fellow human beings, for it says that some are less than others. It is also a lie about God, for it falsely claims that God favors parts of creation over the entirety of creation.
Because of our biblical understanding of who God is and what God intends for humanity, the PC(USA) must stand against, speak against, and work against racism. Antiracist effort is not optional for Christians. It is an essential aspect of Christian discipleship, without which we fail to proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ.
While recognizing that racism victimizes many different racial ethnic groups, we acknowledge its unique impact on the African American community. Anti-black racism has been a structural component of the United States from the beginning. The Constitution defined an African American as three-fifths of a person, denying their full humanity. The economic foundations of the United States were built on slave labor. The legal system of the United States has consistently perpetuated the subjugation of African Americans throughout the history of the nation.
Given the particular forms that anti-black racism has taken in the United States of America both historically (including slavery and Jim Crow) and today (including mass incarceration, disproportionate policing, economic inequality, and continuing acts of racially oriented violence and hate), we state clearly: GOD LOVES BLACK and BROWN LIVES who were created equally in the image of God. Too many have denied this basic truth for too long. As followers of Jesus Christ, we must stand against racism in all its forms.
Finally, as Presbyterians we know something about work. While aspects of the Protestant work ethic may be problematic, to the degree that it signifies our determination, persistence, and stubborn strength, we embrace it in this regard: we commit ourselves to DO THE WORK of countering racism in our witness to the Gospel. In our affirmation that God loves difference, we will honor diversity as a good in which God delights. In our conviction that God desires justice, we will learn from others to broaden our understanding of equality. In our humility as sinful people, we will listen openly to diverse voices regarding how racism functions in our society. In our gratitude for God’s grace, we will turn again and again towards the vision of whole community found in the Word of God. In our joyous response to God’s love, we will love one another.
Adapted by the First Presbyterian Church of Mount Pleasant
from the PC(USA) Church wide Anti-Racism Policy Vision Statement
A MESSAGE FROM PASTOR TREY ABOUT PROGRAMMING DURING QUARANTINE
Dear Families and Friends of First Presbyterian Church,
We are exploring new ways to be the Church together. God created us to be resilient and adaptive people. We will work together to create good things out of a worrisome time. That’s what the church has always done. Here are few things that we want you to know:
In Person Worship and Activities: All in person worship and activities are postponed until further notice. However, we can worship God anytime and anywhere. We have plans for online worship and you can always visit our worship archives from our website http://www.firstpresbyonline.org.
Children and Youth: As of today, all children, youth, and confirmation activities are on hold. We have already established an online community with Revolution families and we are keeping that alive during this time.
Church Outreach: Our Elders and Deacons have each been assigned a group of church friends. They are the representatives of our church. They will reach out to you several times over the coming weeks just to check in. It may seem like a short phone call to ask how you are feeling about things that week. However, its our way of saying we care about you, because God cares about you. It’s an important way we will stay connected as the church.
Tech Deacons: We have some volunteers who are willing to serve as tech Deacons to help people get online and connected. We will have Bible studies and worship services available, as well as some community chats. I know some of our members say don’t feel comfortable with those things. We are happy to help so we can include you. It is one of the only options we have for socializing face to face right now. It is a joy to help others so now is great time to say yes to learning something new.
Online Programming: I am offering online community gatherings for two Bible studies on Wednesday at 10 AM and 6 PM. We will also have our Wilderness Study: From Pain to Possibility on Sunday’s at 6 PM. You can join any of those using my zoom link https://us04web.zoom.us/j/2372664501. I will also try doing Facebook live simultaneously. Again, one of our tech Deacons will be happy to get you set up and comfortable using these platforms.
Office Closing: We want to discourage people from just dropping by at this time. I don’t like it one bit. Drop-in visitors are the favorite part of my day. However, we want to do our part to keep the community safe. We are glad to schedule appointments, talk on the phone, FaceTime, Skype, zoom, text message, email, and we will keep all lines of communication open.
Helping Neighbors: Our IowaWINs Food Pantry will be giving out Grocery Cards for this month instead of having a food distribution. We are also worried about people coming in off of the street asking for help. We expect this will increase toward the end of the month. We have a sign on the church doors directing those in need to the Fellowship Cup. We donate generously every year to the Fellowship Cup as part of our community tithe and offerings as a church. In fact, we donate well over 10% of our operational budget to benevolent giving. We will continue to do so. We will support our community helping agencies.
Tithes and Offerings: We would ask that you continue to give to the church during this time so we can continue to help and support our community programs and offer programs and support to you. You may mail your checks to 902 S. Walnut St. or give online by clicking this link https://bit.ly/2x46F6I. Again, we want to discourage people from dropping their checks off in person.
Family and Friends: Please keep us informed if you and your family leave town so that we know just in case of worst case scenarios. We especially want to make sure that any people who live alone are being checked on frequently. Please let us know if we can help your family or any of your friends stay connected or if you think of someone who needs us. Also, please invite anyone to join our online events and worship.
We want to stay in touch as best we can. We have some more creative ideas to keep you in touch with each other. We will get to those as time goes by. In the meantime, we will keep praying for this to end with as few lives negatively impacted as possible.
God’s peace and well-being for all,
Rev. Trey Hegar
We are exploring new ways to be the Church together. God created us to be resilient and adaptive people. We will work together to create good things out of a worrisome time. That’s what the church has always done. Here are few things that we want you to know:
In Person Worship and Activities: All in person worship and activities are postponed until further notice. However, we can worship God anytime and anywhere. We have plans for online worship and you can always visit our worship archives from our website http://www.firstpresbyonline.org.
Children and Youth: As of today, all children, youth, and confirmation activities are on hold. We have already established an online community with Revolution families and we are keeping that alive during this time.
Church Outreach: Our Elders and Deacons have each been assigned a group of church friends. They are the representatives of our church. They will reach out to you several times over the coming weeks just to check in. It may seem like a short phone call to ask how you are feeling about things that week. However, its our way of saying we care about you, because God cares about you. It’s an important way we will stay connected as the church.
Tech Deacons: We have some volunteers who are willing to serve as tech Deacons to help people get online and connected. We will have Bible studies and worship services available, as well as some community chats. I know some of our members say don’t feel comfortable with those things. We are happy to help so we can include you. It is one of the only options we have for socializing face to face right now. It is a joy to help others so now is great time to say yes to learning something new.
Online Programming: I am offering online community gatherings for two Bible studies on Wednesday at 10 AM and 6 PM. We will also have our Wilderness Study: From Pain to Possibility on Sunday’s at 6 PM. You can join any of those using my zoom link https://us04web.zoom.us/j/2372664501. I will also try doing Facebook live simultaneously. Again, one of our tech Deacons will be happy to get you set up and comfortable using these platforms.
Office Closing: We want to discourage people from just dropping by at this time. I don’t like it one bit. Drop-in visitors are the favorite part of my day. However, we want to do our part to keep the community safe. We are glad to schedule appointments, talk on the phone, FaceTime, Skype, zoom, text message, email, and we will keep all lines of communication open.
Helping Neighbors: Our IowaWINs Food Pantry will be giving out Grocery Cards for this month instead of having a food distribution. We are also worried about people coming in off of the street asking for help. We expect this will increase toward the end of the month. We have a sign on the church doors directing those in need to the Fellowship Cup. We donate generously every year to the Fellowship Cup as part of our community tithe and offerings as a church. In fact, we donate well over 10% of our operational budget to benevolent giving. We will continue to do so. We will support our community helping agencies.
Tithes and Offerings: We would ask that you continue to give to the church during this time so we can continue to help and support our community programs and offer programs and support to you. You may mail your checks to 902 S. Walnut St. or give online by clicking this link https://bit.ly/2x46F6I. Again, we want to discourage people from dropping their checks off in person.
Family and Friends: Please keep us informed if you and your family leave town so that we know just in case of worst case scenarios. We especially want to make sure that any people who live alone are being checked on frequently. Please let us know if we can help your family or any of your friends stay connected or if you think of someone who needs us. Also, please invite anyone to join our online events and worship.
We want to stay in touch as best we can. We have some more creative ideas to keep you in touch with each other. We will get to those as time goes by. In the meantime, we will keep praying for this to end with as few lives negatively impacted as possible.
God’s peace and well-being for all,
Rev. Trey Hegar