It’s now been a full week since an 18-year-old white man opened fire at a Tops Friendly Market in a mostly Black neighborhood in Buffalo, New York. I will not say, “This is not who we are,” because clearly, this is us. We are many things in this nation, and the evil of white supremacy is a part of us.
Inclusion is not a quick or easy journey. One public statement — by me or our governor — doesn’t complete the work. More than any formal statement, it is the ensuing conversations, relationships and deepened commitments that create inclusive community — the kind of solidarity that Pope John Paul II defined this way: “We are all really responsible for all.”
We all know the feeling when we’ve been part of a conversation that really mattered — one in which people were fully present, spoke honestly and clearly, and where ideas were formed and tested. We need more of that — not only at Goshen College and all of our places of work, but also in our churches and communities.
I’ve been mustering up the courage to write about truth. These days, it matters more than ever.
Are we bringing our very best to bear on what is perhaps the greatest challenge humans have ever faced: climate change? What would it look like if we did?
