Three Core Pillars

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What is Structural Racism?

Race is a socially constructed concept that purports to use characteristics such as skin color, facial features, and body structure as a basis for classifying people. It has no scientific or biological basis. It was introduced during the period of European colonial expansion.

Prejudice is pre-judgment in the absence of evidence and held even when evidence contradicts it.

Social power is the capacity of individuals and groups to determine what happens in society. Their decisions and actions then shape society’s values, beliefs, institutions, and systems.

Racism = Racial hierarchy + Prejudice + Social power

Racism is the combination of social power and racial prejudice to create systems that treat people differently, based on their defined racial group. Privileges are provided for some while dehumanizing, excluding, or oppressing others.

What is structural racism? Structural racism is the normalizing of racism within institutions and structures. Once racism is structural and institutional (as it is in the United States), it creates ongoing, persistent inequality. Inequality occurs in accessing money, land, housing, education, health, information, and social power. Because inequality is a part of the structures and institutions that we interact with every day, it often goes unquestioned and unchallenged by most of society or the dominant culture. In the United States, structural racism particularly advantages white people while producing negative impacts for people of color.

Important notes:

• Racism is measured not by intent, but by its impact on those who are oppressed.
• Racism can be overt or covert, individual or systemic, intentional or unintentional.
• Racism grants privilege to some and sustains the dominant group.
• Racism exists everywhere in our society, and in all institutions, including our church.
   

(notes adapted from https://united-church.ca/social-action/justice-initiatives/anti-racism)

We work in our worship, learning, relationships, actions and sharing to dismantle structural racism. Some suggested resources are below.

Worship:

Incorporate components of the Confession of Belhar in your worship.

Host a Matthew 25 worship resource for Dismantling Structural Racism.

Learn:

Engage youth with the “When did we See You” resources from Presbyterian Youth & Triennium.

Use Bending the Moral Arc resources to dismantle structural racism through courageous conversations to promote a deeper understanding and awareness of the profound impact of racism in all our lives.

Educate youth with this quicksheet Exploring Justice on the Road: An Intergenerational Civil Rights Bus Tour.

On a personal level, read and examine your own experiences of race and privilege: Peggy Macintosh, “Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack”.

On a congregational level, we can study together what our faith says and how we are called to make a difference. A resource to use in church settings is: Facing Racism study guide.

For predominantly white congregations, use this assessment tool to ask questions and discern action steps, developed by Rev. Katie Crowe, Trinity Ave. Presbyterian Church, Durham, NC. Download here.

With children, use this Children’s Anti-Racism toolkit.

Explore racial justice issues through these film and video clips:

• Flint: The Poisoning of an American City. Documentary follows environmental racism that contributed to lead poising of children and families in Flint, Mich. Watch Trailer Now
• Sacred Conversations on Race
• Women of Faith who Challenge Systemic Racism and Oppression: Liz Theoharis
• Knox Presbyterian Church – Dismantling Structural Racism.

Host book studies on: No Innocent Bystanders: Becoming an Ally in the Struggle for Justice by Shannon Craigo-Snell and Christopher Doucot; Anxious to Talk About It: Helping White Christians Talk Faithfully about Racism by Carolyn B. Helsel; What Kind of Christianity: A History of Slavery and Anti-Black Racism in the Presbyterian Church by William Yoo.

Relate:

In order to prepare ourselves to form genuine and mutual relationships, we first examine our own cultural assumptions, privilege, and life encounters with racism through an anti-racism training such as one led by the PC(USA) Office of Gender and Racial Justice or Crossroads Anti-Racism Training.

Act:

Find ways in your community to support and welcome immigrants and refugees.

Invite your session and congregation to affirm Black Lives Matter and devise steps or initiatives that put the affirmation into action, always ensuring that there is accountability to Black groups with whom the congregation has developed relationships.

Join in rallies and marches for changes in public policy in your local area, standing against Asian-American, Pacific Islander hate, advocating for indigenous and Native American rights, and standing with Black and other activists or color.

Share:

• Form or join your local SDOP committee.
• Give to funds for Native American churches.
• Support the new Restorative Actions fund launched by the co-moderators in 2022.

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What is “systemic” poverty?

Systemic poverty refers to the economic exploitation of people who are poor through laws, policies, practices and systems that perpetuate their impoverished status. We live in a world where not all have equal access to education, transportation, fresh food, financial resources, clean air, water, or healthy environments, employment with a living wage, healthcare, benefits, citizenship, and affordable housing. This lack of access creates generational cycles of poverty and a racial wealth gap that are systemic in nature. An individual cannot change their economic and social location easily by just “working harder.” Meanwhile the many, interlocking disadvantages often are compounded by choices to stay near family or a particular location or employment opportunity, or by gender and racial injustice, trauma, violence, immigration status, impacts from climate change and environmental degradation, and other complicating issues. Download the full FAQ (pdf).

How Do We Eradicate Systemic Poverty?

While the following is not an exhaustive list, a collaborative group of Presbyterians who studied Matthew Desmond’s book “Poverty by America” together have created this PDF hand-out that highlights some of Desmond’s proposed solutions and linked to PC(USA) policies and statements that agree with those proposals.

Find resources and action suggestions for each of the five spiritual practices:

• Worship
• Learn
• Relate
• Act
• Share

Also available:

Poverty Resource Packet (pdf) containing information about the five spiritual practices, resources and action suggestions for each, core principles, assessment questions, faith assertions, information about strategic domestic and global partners, and an FAQ.
5 Spiritual Practices to End Poverty, a poster from the Presbyterian Hunger Program, shows examples of groups who are engaging issues of ending poverty and building community wholeness.

Worship

In our worship, prayers and faith life, we will incorporate confessional, biblical, theological, and ecclesial understandings of poverty.  

Worship Resources

• Theological Resources for Systemic Poverty from the Book of Confessions, Book of Order, Book of Common Worship, and the Glory to God hymnal into community worship.
• Use denominational resources to explore root causes of poverty, hunger and homelessness on Self-Development of People Sunday (March) or on Hunger and Homelessness Sunday (November) or another time throughout the year.
• Draw ideas from the Poverty and Liturgy issue of “Call to Worship: Liturgy, Music, Preaching, and the Arts” 54.3 (2020).

Worship Action Suggestions

• Begin to reach out, listen, build relationships and open conversations with other congregations and community partners to explore some possible shared worship times together around eradicating poverty and building communities of well-being.
• Play short videos to explore the complexity of poverty, during sermon, prayers of the people, or minute for mission.
  • Poor People’s Campaign, “Pain and Poverty in America”
  • Matthew 25 videos
  • One Great Hour of Sharing programs’ videos, trailers, and clips:
    • Self-Development of People 
    • Presbyterian Hunger Program
    • Presbyterian Disaster Assistance and vimeo.com/pdacares
• Include specific acts of dedication related to poverty eradication at set times (such as 5th Sundays, communion Sundays, etc).
  • Consider using assertions on what we believe about poverty eradication as affirmation of faith or other liturgical components
  • Include advocacy as part of worship through things such as Bread for the World’s “offering of letters“
  • Collect items requested by local non-profits (such as food, diapers, school supplies, winter clothes)
  • After hearing from a local movement or organization through a minute for mission, continue to raise support and awareness of that group

Learn

To download PDFs of PC(USA) Resources list and Action Suggestions organized by the Five Spiritual Practices (worship, learn, relate, act, share), please click here.

In our Christian education and personal learning, we will seek to understand the intersectional, systemic, and root causes of poverty.  

Learn Resources

• Use the Hunger Action Congregation program to engage your church in six areas of church life to end hunger and address its root causes.
• Personally, or with a small group, use the Study and Devotional Guide that explores the globally recognized Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), guide created by the Presbyterian Ministry at the United Nations.
• Explore the poverty section of the Companion Guide to the Commitment to Peacemaking in order to support your congregation in an in-depth season of walking alongside the systemic issues of poverty—find links to children’s resources, adult study and worship resources, advocacy organizations, suggestions for hymns and using our Confessions, and much more.
• Include children in your education about poverty, hunger and its root causes. Use “Not a Game-Hunger” for interactive learning on real-life impact of hunger; invite youth to participate in creating a Souper Bowl of Caring Sunday; use Hunger Program youth and children resources and adapt to your context.

Learn Action Suggestions

• Invite local partner organizations to speak to the congregation about the root causes of poverty that they seek to address, for Sunday School, Wednesday night suppers, etc. Be mindful that you might want to expand your circle of local partners working to end poverty, to include unexpected partners like the health department or a school of social work. Be mindful of which partners you can invest longer-term relationship building in, and which you are hosting simply to unpack some complexities around poverty in your region as a one-time educational event. Be clear what compensation or honorarium might be offered for speaking engagements versus what relationships/partnership work might grow out of connections.
• Offer simulation activities and other active learning models. Be mindful to include “now what” or “next steps” to engage participants in some type of action that stems from the learning activity (i.e. a local organization to support, a local or national piece of legislation to call decision-makers about, etc.)
  • racial wealth gap simulation from Bread for the World
  • the PC(USA) Africa game about children’s education challenges, contact World Mission’s Africa Office at 800-728-7228, ext. 5031. Read More
  • Use Hunger meal simulations to raise awareness and discuss hunger concerns. For suggested outlines of such meals, email php@pcusa.org.
• Attend visits/travel delegations to other communities (local or global) to raise understanding and build relationships, being mindful not to be in a tourist mindset but to enter into space as a learner willing to be transformed in order to act to end poverty
  • Find upcoming campaigns or rallies for state or national Poor People’s Campaign
  • Use the map on the One Great Hour of Sharing page to locate partners that may be willing to receive visits

Relate

We will engage in genuine, humble, mutual and equitable relationships across divisions, social status, and groups as Jesus modeled.

Relate Resources

• Use the Intergenerational Mission Tool Kit as you consider developing relationships and partnerships in mission, in your own community and abroad.
• Explore how to relate well to people as partners, and prepare yourself for relationships and mission projects using the “Called as Partners: Serving Together in God’s Mission International Partnership Manual” and mission toolkits. 
• Use Core Principles and Assessment Questions to help guide and evaluate relational efforts.
• Pray for, learn about, and get connected to our highlighted Mt 25 domestic and global partners who are working to eradicate systemic poverty:
  • Domestic partners
    • Poor People’s Campaign
    • Coalition of Immokalee Workers
    • Jubilee USA
       
• Global partners
  • Pacific Conference of Churches
  • CEDEPCA (Protestant Center for Pastoral Studies in Central America)
  • Middle East Council of Churches
  • RELUFA (Reseau De Lutte Contre La Faim, Cameroon)
  • PRODEK (Programme de Développement Est Kasaï, Congo)

Relate Action Suggestions

• Study and then practice models of community-based development and community organizing. Some models that may be of interest to research and read about might be community health evangelism and asset-based community development.
  • Organizing for Justice: Essential Skills – four-day training from the Midwest Academy: midwestacademy.com/training
  • Contact php@pcusa.org to learn more about Congregation Based Community Organizing.
• Broaden your outreach to new partners to address poverty from a variety of angles/coalitions: consider the health department; schools of public health or schools of social work; mental health agencies; social service providers; social justice movement leaders.
  • To think about how to listen to and relate to your neighbors, and consider who are our neighbors, use tools, suggestions and resources from A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood: Mr. Rogers Day.

Act

We will prioritize listening to, and responding alongside, communities as they identify needs, organize for solutions, and engage in advocacy for change.

Act Resources

• Learn about the model of Congregation Based Community Organizing, hear stories, and connect to possible CBCOs in your area.
• Use the Holy Discernment toolkit at from the Office of Public Witness to explore the biblical roots for our public policy advocacy and engagement in the public square. Sign up for action alerts that you can take individually and/or share with your congregation.
• Follow the Educate a Child Toolkit practical tools and starting points for congregations to begin direct service and advocacy for education. Designed to start or amend education-oriented ministry or education advocacy, this toolkit can be used online or downloaded.
• Involve children in taking action through activities included in One Great Hour of Sharing materials.

Act Action Suggestions

• Identify trusted, community-based, anti-poverty local organizations and leaders to join their campaigns and follow their lead on calls to actions and community meetings–not just politicians, but school social workers, healthcare providers, community organizers, pastors in different denominations and various sectors of the community.
  • Consider joining a community organizing entity. Some suggestions include Direct Action & Research Training Center, Inc. (DART) in 10 states, Industrial Areas Foundation in 24 states, or Faith in Action in multiple locations.
  • Consider joining the organizing efforts in your state with the Poor People’s Campaign.
• Advocate for legislation that helps to end poverty locally, in your state, nationally or internationally. Be mindful not to assume we know what is best- let action arise from listening to and building relationships with impacted communities. Choose advocacy that best suits your congregation and set a goal to follow it for the length of time that makes sense. Reflect along the way.
  • National foci recommended as legislative priorities by the Poor People’s Campaign include many that have Presbyterian policy and programming history, such as Guaranteed Minimum Wage, Voting Rights/Civil Rights, and Immigration Reform. Choose one or more of the PPC priorities as your focus. For Presbyterian policy connections, see the Advisory Committee on Social Witness Policy.
  • Global legislation advocacy, recommended by Bread for the World, could focus on the Global Nutrition Act.
  • Office of Public Witness action alerts available at https://www.votervoice.net/PCUSA/campaigns
• Adopt a focused campaign to address root causes of poverty in your community and across the country:
  • “End Cash Bail” to stop those who are poor from having more impacts of the criminal justice system than those who can afford bail easily. Contribute to the Bail Project bailproject.org. Read about Presbyterian involvement: pcusa.org/news/2019/6/12/louisville-area-presbyterians-and-their-friends-ra/
  • “We Choose Welcome” to support refugees in our community. Posters, resources, and suggestions for advocacy in our resource hub. Download an action guide.
  • “Support Affordable Housing” through community organizing, funding local affordable housing trust funds in your city, and working through local non-profit organizations. To learn more and/or to connect to models of community organizing working on affordable housing, visit pcusa.org/cbco, or watch 7 minute video about housing and Matthew 25 commitments.
  • “Support Fair Food and Farmworkers” through standing with the Alliance for Fair Food and the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, a long-standing Presbyterian partnership.
  • “Help Abolish Medical Debt” for pennies on the dollar. One dollar can abolish $100 worth of medical debt for qualified individuals in the United States. Learn more at RIP Medical Debt.

Share

Recognizing that all gifts come from God and are to be shared, we will share financial, building, time and other resources to create fair access and to right historical harms.

Share Resources

• Connect to and support directly one of our grantee partners working on eradicating systemic poverty in their own location through looking at the One Great Hour of Sharing map to find a group you may wish to learn more about and support.
• Consider how you can practice Mission Responsibility Through Investment with your own congregation’s investments, and to see what kinds of social and sustainability screens are recommended when considering our investments.
• Share your volunteer time and/or your building space with community organizations
• Consider what reparations might look like in your area.

Share Action Suggestions

• Plan and then host congregational asset-mapping to know what assets you have to share in the community
  • Use the Alban Institute worksheet for congregational asset-mapping.
  • Consider using a version of asset-mapping to map assets in the community as well, and to see what ways your congregation can companion, with cultural humility, for co-development (concepts in the book “Freeing Congregation Mission” by Farrell & Khyllep)
  • Take the IDI to help me mindful and reflective of issues of diversity, equity, and justice in relationships and plans https://idiinventory.com/
• Volunteer in the community to address community needs: hunger, education, access to transportation, employment, hunger, tutoring, providing meals, offer space for community organizations and needs as appropriate
  • If needed, use a mission discernment resource, such as “Finding Your Mission Focus”.
  • Host or support a Summer Food Service Program
  • Start or participate in a community garden or host a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture); Learn more in Food Sovereignty for All
  • Support a feeding program with volunteers and/or financial support, or run one yourself. Soup kitchen – Food pantry Other: Meals on Wheels, Blessings in a Backpack Program, etc
  • Share information about how community members can connect with food, housing, health and emergency service providers. Visit 211.org or call 211; or gather and share a resource list of providers in your own community.
• Give to restorative efforts, organizations, and movements to end poverty and build communities of well-being in your area or through PCUSA
  • https://restorativeactions.org/ will receive the General Assembly offering, recommended by co-moderators
  • Special Offerings support communities and people in particular situations of need
  • World Mission global initiatives on poverty alleviation
  • Community organizations and social movements in your area