“How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who publishes peace, who brings good news of happiness, who publishes salvation, who says to Zion, “Your God reigns” (Isaiah 52:7).”
To the Community of Lutherans for Racial Justice (LRJ):
Dear friends, as we reflect on 2021, we find ourselves giving gratitude to God for you, this grassroots community, and our collective commitment to build faithful multiethnic church and school cultures within the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS).
Thanks to the Spirit-led efforts of LRJ participants from around the country, there’s plenty to celebrate from this past year. Together, we learned from the voices and history of diverse cultural experiences in the LCMS, created and curated free resources for Lutheran educators and church workers, endorsed constructive racial justice proposals for our Synod, supported those wanting to organize on the local level, and shared bold bridge-building steps taken by many Lutheran schools, congregations, and organizations. On the civic level, we took solace that truth prevailed in trials like the ones regarding the murders of George Floyd and Ahmaud Arbery, overcoming a legacy of well-documented bias in similar cases. At the same time, we lamented the continued consequences of indigenous genocide, slavery, ethnic internment camps, Jim Crow laws, and other forms of xenophobia, violence, and racial discrimination. Through it all, the LRJ community sought to move the conversation forward, fostering empathy, awareness, and healing through webinars, book clubs, articles, discussion groups, and meetups.
Needless to say: you were very busy — and in the midst of a pandemic, no less.
LRJ launched on Juneteenth, 2020 with the modest goal of creating a small forum for constructive conversations about race within our church body. We were overwhelmed by the rapid response from voices across the LCMS, as thousands joined us in saying “Dear Church, it’s time.” What started as a social media post, quickly grew into a diverse and robust coalition. We’ve been honored to help lead this movement, one we’ve tried to approach with humility, knowing that we have plenty of learning and growth to do ourselves. The outpouring of guidance, grace, and patience you’ve offered along the way has been a gift — especially when offered by those Lutherans who were faithfully engaged in racial justice work long before we were.
As you may have noticed, the LRJ Team has taken a step back over the past few months to focus on this work in our local communities and vocations. But make no mistake: we will be renewing our efforts in the upcoming year as we continue to build this coalition in ways that are sustainable for ourselves, other leaders, and the LRJ community at large. Together, we desire to serve as God’s Word directs us:
“Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ” (Galatians 6:2).
In this first week of 2022, as we celebrate that Jesus was given His Name in the Temple, we give thanks that He truly is the ‘One who saves.’ We look forward with hope in this new year, praying that our Lord’s will would be done in ways that we cannot yet imagine, and we hope that His favor and mercy would be upon each and every member of the mosaic Body of Christ.
For those who desire to serve and share their Spirit-led voice, we urge you to:
May His Spirit fill your heart and life in this year ahead as we all – together – faithfully pursue racial equity, racial justice, racial reconciliation and healing. By God’s grace, we will do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with God and, therefore, with one another.
Keep leading the way!
- Matt & Josh, LRJ