We Stand Together: Black Lives Matter

“But God has put the body together, giving greater honour to the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honoured, every part rejoices with it.”

(1 Corinthians 12: 24-26).

Elim Leytonstone Church is a multi-cultural church that joins with our Black brothers and sisters the world over, who today continue to mourn the senseless death of a Black man in Minnesota USA, George Floyd, at the hands of police officers. This was another racially motivated death at the hands of police officers. Sadly, it is not an isolated event. The community also mourns the loss of all life that has come about due to racial profiling. Closer to home, this grief extends to the Black brothers and sisters who face systemic racism on a daily basis. On a national level we pledge to stand with our brothers and sisters where there is institutional racism.  Whether this is happening in police custody, the courts, prison, any other area of government or in the communities we live in. We also endeavour to make a stand against all racial abuse that people face within our society on a day to day basis.

Over the past week in particular, the Black community have raised their voices even louder in a cry for help; for a stop to racial division and oppression; for the tearing down of systems in place purposely designed to oppress; and a desire to be treated with love and humanity.

As the Church and as the body of Christ we are heartbroken to see the anguish and suffering felt by the Black community. We cannot and must not allow those cries to continue to go unheard. As the above passage states ‘where one part of the body is in pain, the whole body suffers with it’. This is not the battle of Black communities alone, it is a Kingdom battle here on Earth, of which all of us, no matter our race, must play our part.

We at Elim Leytonstone wish to reach out to those affected by the recent events in our world, to say that we see you. We hear you. We honour and stand by you. We acknowledge that we, as a church, have a duty to use our voices to not only pray for and uplift the Black community, but also take proactive steps to “learn to do right; seek justice and defend the oppressed” as we are so instructed in Isaiah 1:17. Today, that means standing against racial injustice against the Black community whenever we see it in our daily lives and not just when precipitating events such as these occur.

As a church, we are committed to taking the time to listen to the pain and experiences carried by our Black brothers and sisters so we can better educate ourselves about ways that we, as a church, can march onward in support of the Black community and Christ’s people in both love and grace. We stand in agreement that by His grace, change will come. But God’s people, as His representatives here on Earth, must lead the way, and we pledge to do so.

Our prayers and cries to the Lord:

For those families who lost loved ones.

To the families in the USA of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, Philando Castille, Tamir Rice, Mike Brown, Eric Garner, Trayvon Martin, and so many others whose names did not make the headlines, we pray that God’s love and providence comforts through their loss and hurt. In faith we pray no other people would suffer and that state legislators and the national government will change the law to protect minority groupings.

In regards to the UK we pray for greater wisdom for those in position of power whether it’s the police, courts, local or national government. We pray that any discrimination exposed by Grenfell, the Windrush scandal, and any over use of stop and search laws will cease and lessons will not only be learnt, but applied. We ask God to move on the government of today to create a fairer society for all, that is not determined by race, class or colour.

Psalm 102: 13  “You will arise and have compassion on Zion, for it is time to show favour. The appointed time has come.” Lord, show favour on our black brothers and sisters to bring that change in all areas of life.

The church.

Lord, we pledge as a church to stand against all racial abuse as we lift our brethren and our community to you. We pledge to challenge racial profiling by the general public or other institutions. Help us to be an ear to their cries and to love where they are hurting. Help us to pray and walk with them through this time and other times.