As the Minnesota Council of Churches began work on the 2023 theme materials for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, they reflected on the murder of George Floyd and the history of racism directed at people of colour in the United States. They also recalled the day in 1862 when 38 members of the Dakota tribe were hanged in Mankato, Minnesota, following the U.S.-Dakota War. As they were led to their deaths, the warriors sang the hymn Wakantanka taku nitawa (Many and Great).

The prophet Isaiah lived in Judah in the 8th century BCE, a time of prosperity in the two kingdoms, Israel and Judah. Yet, like other societies with wealth and power, great inequities existed. The rich and the powerful made offerings in the temple, and gained influence in the spiritual and ritual life of the kingdom. But the poor, who could not afford to offer sacrifices, were excluded from civil and religious life. The injustices of the time were not the result of specific choices of the religious or civil leaders but were the outcome of the structure of the society itself. In response, Isaiah called out for God’s justice. He denounced political, social, and religious structures that created and sustained inequity and oppression. He called upon the people to “learn to do good; seek justice, rescue the oppressed, defend the orphan, plead for the widow.” (Isaiah 1:17)
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The church is called to be anti-racist. Recently, I heard this quote from Ijeoma Oluo, author of So You Want To Talk About Race:

The beauty of anti-racism is that you don’t have to pretend to be free of racism to be an anti-racist. Anti-racism is the commitment to fight racism wherever you find it, including in yourself. And it’s the only way forward.

I find this quote provocative because I struggle to live in actively anti-racist ways. I find it provocative because I continue to detect in myself a desire to avoid admitting the racism in me and in my faith communities. Based on several recent experiences, which were simultaneously painful, frustrating, and holy, I have no doubt about the truth of the words it’s the only way forward.
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After decades of nipping around the edges of the issues of systemic racism, the Commissioners of the 43rd General Council voted to declare the denomination to become an anti-racist church on Saturday, October 24, 2020. “This doesn’t mean we have achieved this goal,” explains the Moderator, the Right Rev. Richard Bott, “but we are taking a stand and saying we are publicly committed to eliminating systemic racism from our practices and policies.”

One of the last actions of outgoing General Secretary Nora Sanders was to create a new Anti-Racism and Equity Officer position in the General Council Office. After an extensive search process, we are pleased to announce that the successful candidate is Adele Halliday, who has already been deeply engaged in related work within the Church in Mission Unit and has worked with the United Church since 2004.
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