June 2022 Monthly Letter
Reconciliation and Unity (Final Installment)
by Willard High
Reconciliation and Unity are companions; one follows the other. Pastor Al and I, along with our congregations, faced many challenges as we explored something that is seldom done in our culture or Christendom. In my letter I may have used the familiar term, “Racial Reconciliation” but I am fully aware that there is no such thing because there is only one race – the human race – and we are trying to reconcile people from different socio-economic or ethnic groups.
Our two churches had to learn to share their stories and their lives, something that society, even churches find almost impossible. In America, we are kept separate and taught to distrust and disrespect the other ethnic groups from childhood; therefore, sharing is more than a notion easily achieved. Imagine my optimism when early in our journey, just hours before their 9:30 am service, the leadership of First Reformed Church (FRC) called and asked me to preach the Easter Sunday message. Pastor Al had fallen ill with the flu but their response to this emergency showed an uncommon level of comfort, faith and respect. It is not lost on me that it was on this Sunday that the first Black family from the neighborhood joined the Church.
Pastor Al, his new African-American Music Minister, Jacob, and I spent many all-day retreats fasting, singing songs, praying and asking God for strength and direction. I know that He carried us through those hard times our congregations faced, trying to actually live the commitment we made with our mouths and put in writing within our Covenant of Shared Space. There were times when we had to reassure ourselves and one another that it was worth the effort, since it was so counter-intuitive. The Covenant made our congregations equal partners and gave Shepherd’s Community Church access to facilities without prejudice in scheduling or use, and to their credit, FRC honored that contract. In that context, we shared five-year and ministry plans while we encouraged and held one another accountable by speaking the truth in love. When we came together for quarterly meals, the tables were intentionally integrated. The six-week Reconciliation Workshop Pastor Al mentioned was primarily attended by leaders from both congregations, including South Holland Mayor, Don DeGraff, and several Village Trustees. I believe to this day, due to their real life exposure and commitment, Mayor Don and South Holland Village leaders are the most balanced in the South Suburbs of Chicago when it comes to shared roles and respect for peoples and cultures. Seven years later, our shared experience with our Sister Church gave us confidence to purchase, develop and manage our own church complex.
When it comes to reconciliation each person must do his or her own work since discrimination and racism, like love, are rooted in our hearts. True love and acceptance, (not tolerance – we accept one another, we tolerate a medical procedure), reconciliation and unity cannot be legislated, or forced upon anyone. In truth, I believe whether we are Christians or do not acknowledge any deity, this movement comes from God. He alone can change what is inside! So brace yourselves; our world will not enjoy full unity and respect among ethnic groups in our human lifetime. Individuals and small groups who pause, look inside and apply the perfect Law of Love will, by God’s grace, be transformed and get it. In each case before unity comes reconciliation.