Leaders of the Richmond, VA Clergy for Racial Reconciliation Conference – over 100 clergy attended
For our first two years in Richmond, the ministry of the Cornelius Corps was almost exclusively online due to the COVID 19 pandemic. I am very grateful for that the Zoom platform allowed us not only to continue our ministry but to expand our geographical reach. We will continue this vital part of the ministry. Last weekend I had the privilege of attending in person the first annual Clergy for Racial Reconciliation Conference in Richmond, VA. The purpose of the conference was to gather clergy from the Richmond metro area across racial and denominational lines to build relationships and to coordinate existing and new initiatives in the long journey toward racial justice and reconciliation. In many ways the story of Richmond is a microcosm of our nation’s racial history including centuries of enslavement, Civil War, Reconstruction, Jim Crow segregation, and contemporary forms of racial inequity. In each of these periods, there was a white majority that worked to sustain the status quo and Blacks who resisted racial oppression along with a small group of white allies. Tragically the Church generally repeated the same pattern as the culture rather than providing a consistent witness for racial justice as an essential part of Christian discipleship. The two videos posted below provide examples from Richmond’s history with a focus on the periods of enslavement and legal segregation. The first video features state Delegate Delores McQuinn who spoke at the Clergy for Racial Reconciliation Conference.
The long road to racial justice and reconciliation today includes facing this history including the generational and personal trauma of racism along with ongoing forms of systemic racism. While all this can be very heavy and overwhelming, being with others of various races and churches committed to the same journey was both inspiring and motivating to keep taking steps together on this long road. I am grateful that the ministry of the Cornelius Corps offers our small piece as we work with sisters and brothers in Richmond to keep going together. Following this sacred and special conference, I look forward to deepening relationships and collaborations that started there.