Lutheran African Americans Focus On Criminal Justice

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- African American members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) are concerned about the disproportionate number of Black men and women incarcerated in the United States.
During its seventh biennial convention here June 23-26, members of the African American Lutheran Association (AALA) voted to communicate to the 1999 ELCA Churchwide Assembly the necessity of a churchwide emphasis on the criminal justice system in this country -- a system that convicts and imprisons "a grossly disproportionate" number of African Americans. The 1999 ELCA Churchwide Assembly will meet August 16-22 in Denver.
"Every speaker at AALA's convention lifted up concerns about the criminal justice system or 'criminal injustice system' as one of our speakers referred to it," said Sylvia Pate, AALA president, New Hope Lutheran Church, Dayton, Ohio.
"The number of Black females incarcerated has grown by about 230 percent over the last few years. There is a lot of concern about why this is happening and what happens after incarceration. They lose their right to vote and are disenfranchised which, in turn, disenfranchises our community. We feel that we need to rally our church around that issue and begin to look at what the criminal justice system is doing to young Black women and men," Pate said.
AALA voted "to call upon the ELCA to utilize every available resource for the development of a comprehensive strategy that addresses the urgent and complex issues of the criminal justice system in this country and provide opportunities for the development of prison ministries, advocacy programs, services to families of the incarcerated and congregation-based crime and violence prevention programs."
AALA's 1997 convention called for a moratorium on all executions in state and federal prisons; a moratorium on construction of all minimum and maximum security correctional facilities and an end to the incarceration of juveniles in adult penal institutions.
"The Blood that Unites the Diaspora: A Consultation of Black Peoples" was held June 4-7, 1998, at Tuskegee Institute, Ala. AALA approved a report on the consultation and voted to forward the report to the ELCA Commission for Multicultural Ministries' steering committee for consideration.
Diaspora is defined as "people settled far from their ancestral homeland." The consultation marked the first time the ELCA brought together Africans and African Americans. The event offered daily devotions, workshops, village meetings and plenary sessions. Workshop titles included Blacks in the Bible; Women and Children Living in Poverty; A Focus on Youth: Rites of Passage; Immigration Policies and Realities; and Economic Development and Global Sustainability: George Washington Carver's Vision.
"The consultation also featured a video teleconference linking participants with people of Johannesburg, South Africa, and Sao Paulo, Brazil," said the Rev. Eric T. Campbell, director for African American ministries, ELCA Commission for Multicultural Ministries. "This was a way of connecting people of the Diaspora with the African American/Black brothers and sisters of the ELCA," he said.
The theme for AALA's 1999 convention was "Rekindling the Gift: Strengthening, Building and Developing African American Leadership and Congregations."
The Rev. Titus D. Clark, Peoples Community Lutheran Church, Baltimore, Md., preached at opening worship. "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere," Clark said, citing the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. He urged AALA members to "reach back" to the "have nots" in the community and help people improve their lives.
"We have been blessed with many talented people in our community. God does not create people without talent," Clark said in an interview.
"God has produced power in our midst. God has produced educated people, and all people have something to offer. In 'rekindling the gifts,' we need to recognize the strength, ability and potential we have and not allow prevailing circumstances to determine our potential," Clark said. "In order to 'rekindle the gifts,' we must reconnect with our past and reach out to our neighbors, so that no one gets left behind."
"Even during the early part of the civil rights movement, with limited resources, African Americans were able to do great and wonderful things. We will continue to move on, not as individuals but as a collective body taking along with us those people who are weak and bearing the burdens of the weak," he said.
The opening worship featured a children's choir from Bethel Lutheran Church, Chicago, and St. Peter Lutheran Church, Philadelphia. Susubiribi, a Chicago-area African dance group, was a highlight of worship.
About 100 young people between ages 7 and 18 participated in a "youth trek" during the assembly. The trek included Bible study, storytelling, music, small group discussions, problem solving and fun.
"Youth are our present and future leaders," said Pate. "The trek provided an opportunity for youth to discover their gifts and strengths."
The assembly received a special greeting from the Rev. Tom J. Barnett, president of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Sierra Leone (West Africa). Barnett told the assembly that Sierra Leone is a country torn by a nine-year civil war that has created a humanitarian crisis there.
"Lutherans have been trying to bring the mission of Christ for the people of Sierra Leone. Our church ... has been blessed because of our relationship with the Lutheran World Federation and our bilateral relationship with the ELCA to organize relief emergency assistance, whereby we've been able to bring used clothing, to bring food and to give some medicine to people in need," said Barnett. "That is how the church has been trying to respond to the situation."
Members of AALA received a copy of "This Far by Faith," a new ELCA worship resource developed by theologians, musicians, liturgists and congregation leaders from the African American community of the ELCA and The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod. The ELCA Division for Congregational Ministries held a workshop at the assembly designed to introduce the book.
"This Far By Faith" includes 120 pages of liturgical materials, a section of traditional and contemporary hymns and songs, a service of "prayer and preaching" set in a revival format, and culture-specific items including worship services that acknowledge Martin Luther King Jr., Black History Month and Kwanzaa.
"The African American Lutheran Association recognizes the fact that it is the only official voice for African Americans and Blacks in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America," Pate said. "The association wants to be that voice and to be recognized not only by our community but also by the church and others."
There are 227 ELCA African American congregations in the United States and Caribbean (congregations whose baptized membership is 30 percent or more Black). Forty-four percent of ELCA African Americans are in congregations whose membership are 90 percent or more Black.

For information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or NEWS@ELCA.ORG
http://www.elca.org/co/news/current.html