Reports from Presbytery

Since the death of Freddie Gray in Baltimore in April of 2015 and numerous demonstrations in the city, the Baltimore Presbytery has participated in “Race and Reconciliation” meetings including the Baltimore faith community. The extent of these demonstrations indicated the deep hurt in Baltimore’s communities over the deep seated inequities of conditions and treatment.

At the February 2016 Presbytery Gathering a presentation on “Unconscious Bias” was made which was followed by break-out sessions into smaller groups including role playing. Action following this was an invitation to discuss these questions more closely with monthly dinners, the first three to be hosted by Knox Presbyterian Church, 1300 N. Eden Street, Baltimore.

March 29^th was the first of these dinners which was attended by over thirty people – men and women, different ages, black and white, from the city and several counties. And several of the Knox congregation provided and served a lovely dinner; one of the servers was an eight year old young fellow who was so gracious, polite, and helpful – thank you! The bible verse used for the opening discussion was telling of the walk on the road to Emmaus – Luke 24: 13-35.

Knox Presbyterian’s Rev. Michael Moore guided the evening and invited each attendee to take your time and tell us “why are you here?” Some spoke of how the faith community responded immediately at the time of the crisis in helping in the streets and of how inspiring this ongoing leadership is today. Some came directly as a result of the insight realized from the discussion on “unconscious bias” at the Presbytery. Several have real hurts experiencing racism in their lifetimes. Many shared different life influences and experiences that have led to personal empathy in this real question of everyday life. Some shared turning points across cultures.

Will this help? The result of listening to each of the attendees’ answers was very moving. Indeed we felt the presence of God – the hurts and experiences and insights were generously explored and received with respect. Rev. Moore recommends a book to help build this dialogue and help us in this journey: The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz.