Central/Southern Illinois Synod
MENUMENU
  • About
    • Synod Staff
    • Synod Council
    • Synod Map by Conference
  • Communications
    • Events
    • Synod Assembly
  • Contact Us
Find A Congregation
Donate
MENUMENU
  • Congregations
        • Administration Resources
          • Constitutions
            • Synod Constitution (2018)
            • 2022 Model Constitution Congregations (PDF)
            • 2022 Model Constitution Congregations (Word)
            • 2022 Amendments to the Model Constitution for Congregations
            • ELCA Guide for Use Model Constitutions Congregations
            • ELCA Intro Model Constitution Congregations
            • How to Update Congregational Constitutions
          • Employment
            • Information on Hiring Employees
            • Preventing Sexual Misconduct in Congregations
            • Writing a Job Description
          • Insurance
            • Church Property Loss
            • Disaster Preparation
          • Records Management
            • Archiving in Congregations
            • Records Retention
            • Disposition of Records
            • Maintaining Parish Register
          • Risk Management Information
            • Security Procedures
        • Call Process & Interim Ministry
        • Calling Forth New Ministers
        • Compensation Guidelines
          • 2023 Compensation Guidelines
          • 2022 Compensation Guidelines
        • Faithful INNOVATION
        • Food for the Journey
        • Growing Younger
        • Guide For Holy Closure
        • Invite the Bishop
        • Mission Support
        • Occasional Services
          • Liturgy at the Departure of a Pastor
          • Disposal of Deteriorating Bibles
        • Portico Benefit Services
        • Pulpit Supply
        • Sister Congregations
        • Social Ministry, Justice, And Advocacy Grants
          • SMJA Grant Proposal
          • SMJA Grant Letter
        • Stewardship
        • The Parish Paper
        • Video Sermons
  • Faith Formation
        • Adult Faith Formation
        • Children and Youth
          • Leadership Lab
          • ELCA Youth Ministry Network
          • Ministry Links Online
          • Lutheran Outdoor Ministries
        • Dwelling in the Word
        • ELCA Colleges
        • Synod Campus Ministries
        • The Generosity Project
  • Pastors & Deacons
        • Am I Called?
        • Annual Reports
          • Request for Annual Reports
          • Word and Sacrament
          • Word and Service
          • Synod-Authorized Ministry
        • Fall Theological Conference
        • Interim Ministers
          • Interim Minister's Quarterly Report
          • Interim Ministry Gathering Presentation
        • Resources for Pastors and Deacons
          • Boundaries Workshop Resources
          • Compensation Guidelines
            • 2023 Compensation Guidelines
            • 2022 Compensation Guidelines
          • Clergy Housing Allowance
          • Wellness & Renewal Grants
  • Synod Ministries
        • C/SIS Mission Support
        • C/SIS Women of the ELCA
        • Lutheran Men in Mission
        • Lutheran Outdoor Ministries
        • Lutheran Social Services of Illinois
        • Women of the ELCA
  • Racial Justice
  • Bishop’s Reflections
Pastoral Letter – April 2021

Bishop’s Reflections

Pastoral Letter – April 2021

Pastoral Letter – April 2021

April 26, 2021

Beloved in Christ,

We have had several days to digest that Derek Chauvin has been convicted of the murder of George Floyd.  I commend to you the pastoral word on the verdict issued by Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton this past Tuesday (https://elca.org/News-and-Events/8099).  I echo her words on the ongoing grief of the Floyd family and other families that have suffered under the abuse of police authority, her appeal that we recommit ourselves to fight against the sin of racism, and her affirmation that “if one member suffers, all suffer together” (1 Corinthians 12:26).  Let me also draw your attention again to the C/SIS Synod Council Statement in Response to the Brutal and Unjust Killing of George Floyd (https://www.csis-elca.org/racial-justice/ ) and the commitments to anti-racism that our Synod Council committed to in June 2020.

My hope is that this verdict will herald a brighter future for racial equity in law enforcement, and more broadly.  But this will not come quickly or easily.  It would be unfair to generalize from Derek Chauvin’s inexcusable action to the conclusion that all police officers are like him.  I know many current and former police officers who act professionally, fairly, and selflessly as they risk their lives for their communities.  Nevertheless, unrelenting news of misuse of force and abuse of police power disproportionally against people of color tells us that something deeper than isolated individual acts is at work.   That something is systemic racism.

Individual racism is relatively easy to identify.  It is the racist joke, the name-calling, the physical expression of rejection when a person of color gives an opinion.  Systemic racism is more pervasive but more difficult to recognize by those of us who are white.  Systemic racism has to do with racial inequities, for example, in getting a job, getting an education, and (on the other hand) being incarcerated.  One illustration of the effect of systemic racism is that black Americans are much more likely to get arrested on drug charges than white Americans, even though usage rates are comparable; once arrested, black defendants are more likely than white defendants to be denied bail, and more likely to receive harsher charges and sentences than white defendants who committed the same offenses.  People of Asian descent, Native American descent, and Latin American heritage face systemic racism as well.

What is the role of the church, of Christians individually and collectively, in responding to racism?  Our response begins with the bedrock Christian conviction that all people – people of every race, ethnicity, and descendants – are created in the image of God.  Subsequently, “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 2:23).  Any theory that one race or another is “cursed” or innately inferior to another race is a heretical misreading of Scripture and Christian theology.  We are all utterly dependent on the grace of God in the crucified and risen Christ Jesus.

Our synod’s Anti-Racism Working Group is continuing its preparation to serve individuals and congregations of our synod in our commitment to live out the Scriptural theme of the Synod Council’s statement:

“[The LORD] has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” (Micah 6:8)

In Christ,

S. John Roth
Bishop
Central/Southern Illinois Synod (ELCA)

Central/Southern Illinois Synod
Quick Links
  • About
  • For Congregations
  • Communications
  • Contact Us
  • Pastors And Deacons
  • Newsletter
  • Synod Ministries
Contact Us
  • (217) 753-7915
  • 524 South Fifth Street Springfield, IL 62701
  • synodoffice@csis-elca.org
© Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. All Rights Reserved. | Privacy Policy |
Web Design 309