Our Pro-Baptismal, Anti-Racist Journey
FROM BROKENNESS TO BELOVED COMMUNITY
We believe every person is made in the image of God. We believe racism distorts that image and leads to harm, disconnection, and brokenness. We also believe the Church has been given, in Jesus Christ, exactly what we need: to heal what is broken, restore what has been severed, and become, however imperfectly, however gradually, the beloved community God intends.
The God who made us for each other
“After this I looked, and there was a great crowd that no one could number. They were from every nation, tribe, people, and language. They were standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They wore white robes and held palm branches in their hands.”
- Revelation 7:9
The vision at the end of Scripture is not one of uniformity. It is an uncountable multitude of every nation, every tribe, every language, gathered together before the throne of God. Diversity is not a problem to be solved. It is a gift to be received, a foretaste of the kingdom, and a mark of the Church when it is most fully itself.
This is what we are called to embody at Edenton Street UMC: not mere tolerance of difference, but genuine delight in it. A community where the richness of human experience, culture, and perspective enriches our worship, deepens our friendships, and strengthens our witness.
We are not there yet. No church is. But we are journeying together, imperfectly, hopefully, toward the beloved community God has promised and Jesus died to make possible.
what we believe and what we confess
We believe:
Every person is made in the image of God - the imago Dei - and possesses inherent worth and dignity. This is not an aspiration. It is a declaration about reality.
Racism, in its personal, cultural, and systemic forms, distorts that image. It is a sin. And like all sin, it requires honest reckoning, not polite avoidance.
The Church of Jesus Christ has too often failed in this reckoning. We have participated in, benefited from, and sometimes blessed the structures that harmed our neighbors. This includes parts of the history of Edenton Street since our founding in 1811.
Naming this history honestly is not an attack on the church. It is an act of faithfulness to the God who calls us to truth.
And we confess:
We have not always loved our neighbors as ourselves. We have allowed comfort to outpace courage. We have sometimes chosen the peace that avoids conflict over the peace that Christ promises, which runs straight through the places we would rather not go.
We confess this brokenness honestly because confession is how communities of faith begin to move forward rather than around what is broken. We believe that because of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, such honest confession opens the door to genuine healing.
The Ancient path - our baptismal calling
On behalf of the whole Church, I ask you: Do you renounce the spiritual forces of wickedness,
reject the evil powers of this world, and repent of your sin?
Do you accept the freedom and power God gives you to resist evil, injustice, and oppression
in whatever forms they present themselves?
- The Baptismal Covenant
In the Christian tradition, every baptism begins with a turning.
In the early church, before candidates affirmed their faith in Jesus Christ, they faced away from the altar. They were asked to renounce the spiritual forces of wickedness, to reject the evil powers of this world that rebel against God, and to repent of sin that separates us from the love of God and neighbor.
The yes to Jesus requires a no to things that diminish the sacred worth God has given every person.
The tools we need for this work are not new. They are the tools the Church has carried for centuries:
| Conviction | The Spirit’s work of opening our eyes to what is true — about ourselves, our history, and the world we have helped to build. We cannot address what we cannot see. |
| Contrition | Not guilt, which turns inward and stalls, but sorrow that turns toward God and neighbor — the ache of a heart that sees the distance between what is and what God intends. |
| Confession | The courageous act of naming what is true, before God and before one another. Not self-flagellation, but honesty in the presence of grace. |
| Repentance | Metanoia. A turning. A reorientation of direction and desire — not merely feeling differently, but going a different way. As in baptism: the turning away makes room for the turning toward. |
| Transformation | The ongoing work of the Spirit — in individual hearts and in communities across time. We do not manufacture transformation. We position ourselves for it, participate in it, and trust the God who promises to make all things new. |
These are not steps in a program. They are movements of the Christian life — movements we return to again and again, in every arena where sin has left its mark. And we believe they are exactly what is needed here.
The gift we are growing into
“Do you confess Jesus Christ as your Savior,
put your whole trust in his grace,
and promise to serve him as your Lord,
in union with the Church which Christ has opened
to people of all ages, nations, and races?
- The Baptismal Covenant
This journey is not only about what we are turning away from. It is about what we are turning toward.
The Apostle Paul writes that in Christ there is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female - not because those differences disappear, but because they no longer divide. The Body of Christ is constituted by difference held together in love. That is its very nature. That is what makes it a sign of the kingdom.
We believe that a congregation which genuinely reflects the diversity of its community - across race, culture, background, and experience - is not just a more just community. It is a more complete one. We need each other’s stories, perspectives, gifts, and presence to be fully who God is calling us to be.
We are not there yet. But we have glimpsed it - in worship, in friendship, in shared service, in the moments when the walls come down and we recognize each other as kin. As our Welcome Statement puts it: “we are more like the people God is calling us to be with you here.”
where we are on the journey
This is not the beginning of our story, and we are far from the end.
[This section should include 3-4 sentences of specific ESUMC history and recent journey. Suggested elements:]
An honest reference to ESUMC’s own history in the context of race in Raleigh and NC (link to ESUMC History page)
Reference to the Be the Bridge study and what the congregation learned?
The 2025 Freedom Ride — what it was, what it meant, link to story blog
Trolly Tour trips?
Other things?
Current commitments: how this work continues in worship, discipleship, and community engagement
We continue to learn, worship, serve, and act together, imperfectly, faithfully, and with hope. As part of the North Carolina Conference of the United Methodist Church, we participate in a larger commitment to this work as United Methodists in NC: https://nccumc.org/anti-racism/
Join the Journey
Wherever you are on this road … just beginning, well underway, or returning after time away, there is a place for you here.
Reflect
Read about ESUMC's own history in the context of race in Raleigh and North Carolina. → ESUMC History
Learn
Explore some of our resources … books, films, podcasts, and articles, organized for every stage of this journey. → Browse Resources
Practice
Take the 21-Day Racial Equity Habit Building Challenge: one action a day, for individuals, families, or small groups. → Take the Challenge
Pray
A collection of prayers for racial healing and justice, for personal and corporate use. → Prayers for the Journey
Connect
Find community at Edenton Street for this work, in small groups, in service, and in conversation. → Get Connected
Explore
The NC Conference's anti-racism commitments, training opportunities, and the Deep Reckonings podcast. → NC Conference Resources