Building Community Among Strangers: A Report on Racism, Social Class Divisions, Sex-based Injustices, and Religious Intolerance and Conflict (1999)

One of the greatest challenges created by the new reality of building community among strangers is the acknowledgment that we are all indeed strangers who have something to give to each other. We are challenged to affirm each other even when we do not understand each other. There is no challenge facing our nation and, especially, our own church greater than the divisions based on racism… In the face of these challenges, we affirm that Jesus Christ has the power to overcome racism in our society and in our churches. We commit ourselves to wrestling with racism in the power of the Holy Spirit and in combating racism wherever we find it in our social, economic, and political environments in which we live. Further, we commit ourselves to developing, supporting, and implementing strategies within the church at large and within our own congregations, that make our church more pro active in celebrating our rich cultural heritage as people of God."