Nebraska Synod ELCA
Event
Join R.A.R.E. (Racial Awareness Reconciliation and Engagement) on Tuesday, November 12th at 7:00 p.m. central tie for a discussion of the Academy Award-nominated film A Time for Burning. Commissioned by the Lutheran Church in 1965, this fascinating film explores attempts by the pastor of Augustana Lutheran Church in Omaha to improve race relations in the community.
ELCA churches across the country will be viewing the film during the months of October and November, and all will have the opportunity to have a churchwide follow up conversation about the film with Bishop Eaton on December 3rd at 7:00 p.m. central time.
Why join us in the discussion?
Conversations about race can be awkward and uncomfortable. As people with a shared faith, we dedicate ourselves to the free exchange of ideas and to respect for each other as people who are growing in different ways and at different speeds. We come from many different backgrounds, and very different experiences have shaped us; yet we hold in common a sinful nature and the free gift of forgiveness of those sins. We move forward in the knowledge that God has given us much more to bring us together than to divide us.
Discussing this film together is intended to generate awareness, encourage reconciliation and prompt engagement so that we can live out the command to love God and our neighbors. As Lutherans we profess that the diversity of the human creation is a gift that allows us to see the breadth and beauty of God’s work. We acknowledge that racism is a sin that turns us inward, toward the people we believe to most resemble us, and against the people we imagine to be the most different. Through grace we commit to the task of shedding our prejudices and participating in the rich blessing of human difference.
Prior to our meeting on November 12th, please watch the film at https://tinyurl.com/timeforburning.
You can down load the study guide here with some questions to consider. We will use the guide to facilitate our conversation.