“The sacrifice acceptable to God is a broken spirit; A broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise."
~ Psalm 51:17
Dear OSC family,
I’d like to speak directly, for a moment, to the White congregants among us.
The recent killings of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, and Steven Taylor are just the latest and most high-profile examples of what is truly the most devastating and enduring contagion in America: racism.
Let me be blunt. Racism is alive, well, and thriving in our country today because those of us deemed “White", benefit directly or indirectly from the oppression, exploitation, and murder of Black people.
This has been going on since the founding of our Nation and has never ceased. Make no mistake, these killings are lynchings, and they will not end until White people take responsibility and demand an end to this madness.
This Sunday, our online worship gathering will be dedicated to honoring the lives of these three men, and to beginning a church-wide dialogue about how we can work toward ending our collective complicity in this ongoing National shame.
I pray you’ll join me with broken and contrite hearts.
Rev. Jason Coker
Lead Pastor