BETHANY'S STATEMENT OF COMMITMENT IN RESPONSE TO RACIAL INJUSTICE
(posted June 2020)
In this present moment, it is Bethany Community Church’s identity and call to stand up for our stated priority of racial justice and reconciliation. We claim our core beliefs that all humans are image-bearers of God (Gen 1:27), that diversity is God’s very-good design (Rev 7:9), that Jesus has broken down the dividing walls of human separation (Eph 2:14), and that Jesus calls and equips His followers to be His co-agents of reconciliation and justice (2 Cor 5:18-19).
We acknowledge, lament, and repent of the Church’s complicity in racism in America. We acknowledge our blindspots at Bethany, which often maintain the status quo, and we desire to see more significant progress. We seek God’s healing, reconciling, and redemptive work in us and through us. We stand against racism, racial injustice, and systemic oppression in our midst and reaffirm our commitment to the integration of racial justice and reconciliation in the full life of our church. We commit to actionable steps of lament, listening, and anti-racist engagement as leadership and as a community.