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June 1, 2020

A Call for Lament, Repentance and Change

Dear Roberts and Northeastern Community,

We are a nation in need of healing and justice. The senseless and inhumane death of George Floyd in Minneapolis on May 25, 2020, and the many other lives unjustly taken in acts of cruel prejudice and blind hatred demand our response. These are difficult and deeply rooted societal issues that persist in causing unrelenting suffering in our community. I have come to understand that the brutality and inhumanity unleashed 400 years ago in the transatlantic slave trade continue their destruction of human dignity today in institutional racism throughout our country. As people of faith, we must implore the mercy, forgiveness and help of God to truly become the people we are called to be. Our faith calls us to stand against forces of evil and to stand up on behalf of others, and to be people of peace and reconciliation.

But before we are able to make any lasting change, we must humble ourselves before God in a posture of soul searching and self-examination. We must ask God to show us the ways we have been complicit with injustice, both in our actions and in our inactions. It is not enough merely to share in the grief and pain of our neighbors. Rather, we must call upon the Lord to show us where we have fallen short and identify our own deep-seated biases. Only then will we be able to experience God’s healing grace and participate in the work of transformation.

Let us begin by affirming God’s love for all people and call upon God’s Spirit to enable us to respond in repentance and faith. Let us reaffirm the Christian scriptures and the longstanding words of our faith, which teach us that there is no allowance for hate, no permissible targeting or oppression of others. Let us lament that an important and peaceful demonstration in the City of Rochester that was designed to focus attention on an unspeakable wrong, was disrupted at the end of the gathering by violence instigated by a few people who did not share the values of the organizers. Let us lament that the evil embedded in human hearts continues to erupt in our society and has once again been perpetuated through violence and chaos. And let us recognize that all of this is exacerbated by the weight of a pandemic that keeps our community on edge and apart. The increased anxiety from this fearful virus, growing unemployment, financial stress and a scarcity of resources only adds to the underlying tension and burden of unfair disadvantage among our neighbors who are people of color.

As a community, may God help us to be aware of people’s pain, to be sensitive and to speak up against deep patterns of injustice and oppression, even while we acknowledge that we have not said or done enough. Let us recognize the need to work together to rebuild our community and how as a society we have failed to see that people continue to be marginalized and underserved. All of this has caused understandable frustration, anger and distrust of our systems. To repair our relationships, our city and our world is an enormous challenge. But with God’s help, it must be a priority.

I do not have this all figured out, but as we move through this journey together, let us commit ourselves to follow God’s guidance in working toward a community, nation and world where all life is sacred. During this challenging time, I encourage you to reach out to those within our community for support through the Office of Diversity and Equity (diversity_equity@roberts.edu) or the Office of Spiritual Life (spirituallife@roberts.edu).

Today, I ask that you would join me in earnest prayer. Let us pray for God’s grace and healing for the oppressed and their families. Let us pray for God’s restoration of our hearts and minds that will enable us to see the sacredness of all human life and equip us to treat all people with dignity and worth—as persons created in the image of God.

May the hope of Christ shine brighter in these difficult days and may God’s love ring true in us through our words and actions as we lament, confess and implore God’s mercy on us all.

President Porterfield


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