As members of the one body of Christ and the family of humanity, we join together to condemn the rise in overt anti-Asian violence in the United States. We join with our Asian American siblings to call for an immediate end to xenophobic and racist rhetoric, hate crimes and violence against Asian Americans. Thousands of incidents of racism against the Asian American community have been reported since the COVID-19 pandemic began, and many more have gone unreported. The intentional use of such nomenclature for the COVID-19 virus such as “the China virus”, has been perpetuated and promoted by leaders in the US with impunity. We denounce racist language against Black and brown communities, and we must insist that anti-Asian violence be called out and addressed as part of the systemic injustices laid bare in this time of global pandemic.
As followers of Jesus Christ, we must hold ourselves accountable to the Biblical commandment to love God by loving neighbor, (Mark 12:31, 1 John 4:21) and to affirm that all are created in the image of God. (Genesis 1:27). Jesus teaches us that we are to love one another as he has loved us, and that such love will say to the world that we are his disciples. (John 13:34-35).
In the context of such violence, the shooting at multiple spas in Georgia that resulted in the additional loss of Asian lives demands that we be vigilant in naming and eliminating the ongoing threats being faced by over 20 million Americans. Whenever one human being is diminished, we are all diminished. We cannot remain silent in the face of such violence and terrorism being visited upon our siblings. We stand in solidarity with Asian American Christians and community leaders to call US leaders to account and demand justice and safety for Asian Americans. We must hold elected officials accountable for their words and inaction, as we must whenever such racist and bigoted injustice occurs. For the sake of the common good, (Jeremiah 29:7), we urge them to pursue justice and peace. (1 Timothy 2:2)
We say we are Disciples of Christ, a movement for wholeness in a fragmented world. We say we welcome all to the Lord’s table as God has welcomed us. We say we are an anti-racist, pro-reconciling church. We call each other as Disciples of Christ to do the work of being that church. Let us be the church we say we are.
Rev. Teresa “Terri” Hord Owens, General Minister and President
Rev. Yvonne Gilmore, Interim Administrative Secretary, National Convocation
Rev. Lori Tapia, National Pastor, Central Pastoral Office of Hispanic Ministries
Rev. Chung Seong Kim, Executive Pastor, North American Pacific/Asian Disciples
