Pub Theology – Racism, Ethnicity and Culture

Each month, members and friends of Perry Highway Lutheran Church meet at a local pub or restaurant to socialize with one another and discuss topics that are interesting to us all. This Groundhog Day, we will explore how we can stop repeating the behavor of the past when it comes to racism.

Please plan to join us for our next session on February 2, 7 pm, at Trace Brewery in Bloomfield. Discussion will be on the ELCA social statement: Freed in Christ: race, ethnicity, and culture (1993).

Freed in Christ: Race, Ethnicity, and Culture expresses the ELCA’s calling to celebrate culture and ethnicity. This statement commits the ELCA to confront racism, engage in public leadership, witness and deliberate on these matters, and advocate for justice and fairness. The statement is grounded in the conviction that the church has been gathered together in the joyful freedom of the reign of God as announced by and embodied in Jesus. That reign has not come in its fullness, but the message of God’s yes to the world breaks down all dividing walls as we live into that promise.

In daily life, cultural, ethnic, and racial differences matter. Still, they can be seen and celebrated as what God intends them to be – blessings rather than means of oppression and discrimination. We are a church that belongs to Christ, meaning we are to be a place for everyone as Christ is. Christ’s church is not ours to control, nor is it our job to sort, divide, categorize, or exclude. The 1993 ELCA Churchwide Assembly adopted this statement.