A Good Time to Be in Church

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Tomorrow will be a good day to be in church, if you are so inclined. And we’d love to see you at Northaven, as we continue to move through the horrific events of this week.

I’ll give you a bit of a preview of what I’ll say here…

— When JFK was shot here, Dallas was run exclusively by white men, and was so ultra-conservative that it was a hotbed of the John Birch Society. Over many years, and much struggle, Dallas has reshaped itself into a much more inclusive and progressive city and county. Our city council, commissioners court, and judiciary are incredibly diverse. Our police chief is an African-American. Our sheriff is a lesbian Latina. None of this is to say we are perfect. But violence that intends to divide us by race, religion, sexual orientation and culture is not likely to work here.

— Yesterday’s rally at noon speaks to that diversity, and was a very hopeful sign. it was beautiful to see such a diverse group of religious, and civic leaders..many of whom I’m pleased to call friends.

— Just as we (meaning me and Northaven) supported Black Lives matter, Muslim friends, LGBTQ friends, Immigrants…at various important places over the past few years, so too now we must show our support for the police, who are hurting deeply, and taking this tragedy personally.

— I have learned over the dozens of protests I have been part of (Charleston, MegaMarch, Iraq War, anti-Islamophobia, and many more…) that the police want nothing more than to protect the public.

— At several recent events at Northaven, the police actively worked to protect diverse groups of Muslims, Christians, Jews, Blacks, Whites, gays and straights, who had gathered together. I could see the pride the police officers took at being able to protect *all* of our citizens…wanting nothing more than for us to be able to assemble peacefully, and worship, talk and discuss across lines of race, religion and orientation.

— They see as their calling to provide this kind of basic protection, and they do, time and time again. So, when they cannot…when that protection is shattered, and especially when some of their own are killed…they take it very hard. Therefore, the aftermath of this shooting calls us to a time of support for the police, in their grief and anguish….which is a unique mix of the personal and professional. We can, and must, do this…and I am committed to it. I'm especially sensitive and pained by the several DPD officers we have in our congregation who are working around the clock, even as they are trying to deal with their own griefs and angers.

— In a sense, the gunmen could not have picked a worse city to try to divide by race, religious, orientation and class. We have, quite intentionally, elected progressive and diverse leaders for more than decade now, who are *not* perfect…but who work together. Our faith leaders support each other in times of crisis. The gunmen could not have picked a worse city to target a police force….one that has has worked very hard to lower citizen complaints over the years, through community policing…one that is diverse in race, gender and sexual orientation….and one whose chief personally knows the pain of gun violence more than any other major chief in America.

— We must also be increasingly mindful of rhetoric that erodes the public’s trust in public institutions. Call for, and work for, justice *within* those institutions, yes. But polarizing our citizens such that it creates hostility toward elected officials and law enforcement? This is very dangerous. It’s an issue I’ve spoken to for years…. specifically, after Gabby Giffords was shot, for example. We must hold our public officials and police accountable. But we can do so without creating hostility toward them. Without censoring ourselves, we must ask how our rhetoric and actions might be perceived by lone wolves, and the mentally unstable. This is an incredibly challenging line to walk, but it's what I have said after almost every mass shooting in American for the past four years, and justice-seekers are called to walk it.

—Dallas is not perfect. But it is also not many other cities we could name, which have been rocked by scandals, and whose leaders and police are not nearly as diverse. And it is also, most certainly, not the Dallas of 50-years-ago, following Kennedy. ((Thanks be to God). Dallas, if I might use our Methodist language, is moving toward more “perfection,” knowing it may never get there, but seeking to be the best it can be.

— Our calling is to continue to model this diversity to the world, and to continue to speak of peace and non-violence in all things. We must not allow violence that intends to divide us, to make us fearful of each other, to win.

Hope to see you all tomorrow….

The Rev. Eric Folkerth is senior pastor of Northaven United Methodist Church in Dallas, Texas. This post is republished from his Facebook account with the author's permission.