As the steering committee of the Association of Teaching Theologians of ELCA and ELCIC, we strongly condemn the recent violence and unrest motivated by racism and white supremacy, and we mourn the tragic death of Heather Heyer in Charlottesville, Virginia. We call all teaching theologians to resist any agenda of violence toward democracy, equity and human dignity. We invite all our colleagues to review the ELCA social statements “Freed in Christ: Race, Ethnicity and Culture“, (1993) and “Our Calling in Education” (2007) and use these resources along with our own theological positions in our classrooms, lecture halls and in the publish sphere. We join hands with those protesting this racism and violence.
In making this public statement, we teaching theologians, who are predominantly white, are sensitive to our faculty colleagues of color and our students who are marginalized and experience racial discrimination. We respect, honor, and support our colleagues in their trauma and affirm the fundamental rights of all who dwell with us. We also recognize the need to educate ourselves and our families through a process of soul searching for our prophetic role in times such as these.
There was included a link to a pdf version of the statement.