Anti-Racism
Confession & Commitment
Adopted by the Session
June 18, 2025
1.0 | ABSTRACT
We confess and proclaim that racism in any form––individual, institutional, structural, systemic, cultural, or internalized––is sin and incompatible with the gospel of Jesus Christ.
As a congregation of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), we affirm that God has created all people in God’s image, calls us into reconciliation with one another, and commands justice for the oppressed. Grounded in Scripture and our confessions, and mindful of past Presbyterian and ecumenical studies and statements on this subject, we commit ourselves to the work of anti-racism, both within and beyond the church. This includes confession, repentance, education, advocacy, and transformation. We affirm the beauty of human diversity as God’s gift and reject all attempts to erase or flatten it. In Christ, we pursue unity without demanding uniformity.
2.0 | A CONFESSION OF OUR CONVICTIONS
2.1 | We believe in one God, Creator of all people in all their diversity.
God created humanity in God’s own image (Genesis 1:27), declaring each life sacred and beloved. The rich diversity of race, culture, and ethnicity is a gift from God––a source of strength, beauty, and joy. We celebrate this diversity as part of God’s good creation. Racism– –a system that assigns value and privilege based on race or ethnicity––is a rejection of this divine image and a contradiction of God’s will for human community.
2.2 | We confess that racism is sin.
Race is a social invention, not a biological fact, used to justify inequality through the arbitrary meaning assigned to human difference. Racism distorts human relationships, fractures community, and denies the justice and peace of God. It is an affront to the body of Christ, in which there is no longer Jew or Greek, slave or free, male and female, but all are one in Christ Jesus (Galatians 3:28). We confess the complicity of the church––past and present––in upholding racial hierarchies, whether through silence, inaction, or institutional structures.
2.3 | We are all sinners and fall short of the glory of God
Racism, as a form of sin, reflects the human drive to dominate others. In this, all fall short and bear guilt (Romans 3:23)––though some hold greater power to oppress willingly or unwilling. Yet in confessing our sin, we gather in the shadow of the cross and are freed to become beloved community through the Beloved.
2.4 | We believe the Gospel is a gospel of reconciliation.
God, in Jesus Christ and by the Holy Spirit, has entrusted to us the ministry of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:18). Reconciliation is not a shallow peace, but a deep work of truth-telling, repentance, and repair. The Confession of 1967 reminds us that “God’s reconciliation in Jesus Christ is the ground of the peace, justice, and freedom among nations, races, and peoples.”1
2.5 | We believe that God stands especially with the oppressed.
The Belhar Confession declares that God is “in a special way the God of the destitute, the poor and the wronged.”2 Racism involves individual responsibility, but its deepest roots lie in systemic oppression. It undermines the health of all society, even as its weight falls most heavily on Black, Indigenous, and People of Color. As people of faith, we affirm our call to stand where God stands––in solidarity, in protest, and in hope.
2.6 | We believe that unity in Christ does not require uniformity.
We reject the notion that all must conform to a single cultural, linguistic, ideological, or racial norm in order to belong. We affirm that the church is at its best when its members bring the fullness of their identities into a shared community. The diversity of the church is not a threat to its unity but a manifestation of the Spirit’s power at Pentecost (Acts 2), where all heard the gospel in their own language. Such diversity within unity is inherent to the very being and mystery of the Trinity, God who is one with another in a spirit of love and freedom.
3.0 | OUR COMMITMENTS
3.1 | Radical Hospitality
We commit to being a welcoming community of faith, practicing radical hospitality, and welcoming all people as Christ welcomes all people. We commit ourselves to being and becoming the beloved community by building relationships across lines of difference and by praying for the Spirit’s guidance as we seek to embody that vision in this place.
3.2 | Worship and Confession
We will regularly confess the sin of individual and institutional racism in our liturgy and preaching, and proclaim the hope of Christ’s reconciling love. Our worship will reflect the full image of God by embracing diverse voices, music, stories, and leadership.
3.3 | Education and Formation
We commit to ongoing education for our congregation, including anti-racism training, book studies, and opportunities for dialogue. We will equip leaders and members with tools to identify and dismantle racism in themselves, the church, institutional structures, and the world.
3.4 | Institutional Reflection and Reform
We will examine our church’s history, policies, hiring practices, partnerships, and use of resources through an anti-racist lens. Where injustice is found, we will seek reform, prioritizing voices of those directly impacted.
3.5 | Public Witness and Solidarity
We will act in solidarity with movements for racial justice in our community and nation. We will advocate for policies and practices that advance equity in education, housing, policing, and economic opportunity as our conscience directs; trusting that “God alone is Lord of the conscience.”3
3.6 | Ongoing Accountability
We will look to our Peace & Justice Committee to guide, support, and assess our efforts. This team will report regularly to the session and the congregation, ensuring that our commitment is more than words, but rather, is the shape of our shared life together.
4.0 | A CLOSING AFFIRMATION
We affirm that God calls us not only to love our neighbor, but to unmask and resist the powers of injustice. We believe that the Holy Spirit is at work in the world, drawing all creation toward the beloved community of God. We long for that day when justice will roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream (Amos 5:24).
Until then, we walk together in hope, confessing our failures, laboring in faith, celebrating our progress, and trusting in the God who makes all things new. Amen.
1 The Confession of 1967, 9.5.
2 The Belhar Confession, 10.3.
3 Book of Order, F-3.0101, The Westminster Confession of Faith, 6.109.