BLM/LGBTQIA Sign Statement
Here at Imago, a community of unique individuals with a beautifully diverse array of thoughts, opinions, and lenses through which we view the world, “we believe being formed in the image of God means being a reflection of Jesus (even if imperfectly) to the people around us. We are committed to promoting the values of the kingdom of God: justice, equality, mercy and grace. Furthermore, we honor, respect, and partner with other organizations that may be different than us, in order to serve the community”. We, the leadership team and staff, feel that in this time of great division and continued injustice that now is not the time to remain silent, but rather to use our voices to stand in solidarity with our marginalized sisters and brothers, particularly within the Black community and the LGBTQIA community. Which is why we’ve decided to take a small step in promoting justice and equality by displaying signs in our church yard in support of each of these communities. By doing so, we recognize two potential flaws in this display of solidarity and would, therefore, like to explain the thought process behind this decision.
We, as a church, believe and try to live out the idea that all people are created in the image of God and should be cherished as such. While we are not endorsing every opinion that the Black Lives Matter movement upholds, we do feel strongly that “All lives can’t matter until Black lives matter”. Our aim is not to be combative, but rather to display this ideal that we hold true, to start meaningful conversations, and, ultimately, to let our Black sisters and brothers know, whether across the street, throughout our city, or within our church community, that they are loved.
While we feel that this is a step in the right direction, we recognize that posting signs in our yard is only the beginning of a continual process of learning, growing, speaking out, listening, taking action, failing, and learning some more. Our hope is that these signs not only make our sisters and brothers in the Black community and the LGBTQIA community feel loved and welcomed, but that they also serve as a constant reminder to our church community to continue to find new ways to fight the systemic racism and discrimination so imbedded into our culture and to take action against the injustices that our marginalized sisters and brothers face daily.
As Austin Channing Brown said in her book, I’m Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness, “I need a love that is troubled by injustice. A love that is provoked to anger when Black folks, including our children, lie dead in the streets. A love that can no longer be concerned with tone because it is concerned with life. A love that has no tolerance for hate, no excuses for racist decisions, no contentment in the status quo. I need a love that is fierce in its resilience and sacrifice. I need a love that chooses justice.” Imperfect as we may be, let us continue to strive to be a church that sees the image of God in the people around us and that embraces “a love that chooses justice”.
- Imago Dei Church Leadership Team