Bishop Ward invites us to engage in study and thoughtful conversation about the history of enslaved persons in the U.S. and renew our commitment to serve and minister with all people.
Grace and peace to you in the name of Jesus Christ.
This month, August 2019, marks the 400th anniversary of the arrival of the first enslaved persons into what is now the United States of America. Enslaved persons were brought from Africa to the Jamestown colony. The memory of this event is for us a window and an opportunity. In classes, in groups in our churches, we have opportunity to use resources provided by the General Commission on Religion and Race and the Council of Bishops. It provides us an opportunity to learn history with which we may be unfamiliar. It provides opportunity for us to reflect upon the complexities still present in our country as a result of this history.
As your Bishop, I invite each of you to engage in recognizing this moment in the history of our country, for having conversation about it and for having prayers and worship on the fourth weekend in August so that together we might be renewed in our commitment as people who are anti-racist and multicultural as we serve Christ in Eastern North Carolina.