By Donna Tildon-Archer, Task Force Member
After several months and many drafts, the Prayer for Truth, Reparation, and Healing was completed by the Truth and Reparations Task Force in the spring of 2024.
When we met to put the final touches on what we hoped would be the final draft, one of our African American task force members who attends one of the few predominately African American Episcopal Churches in Virginia asked, “how do we say this prayer with our congregation?” Referencing lines of the prayer such as “confessing the sins of silence, white supremacy, and complicity in the systems that promoted chattel slavery and race-based oppression…” the member noted that this prayer is written from the perspective of the dominant culture and does not meet the spiritual needs nor mend the hearts of African Americans worshiping as Episcopalians.
The task force did not consider this until it was pointed out to us. Once we were enlightened, there was remorse, and a good faith attempt was made to better understand that member’s perspective.
The work of racial justice, healing, and reparations is hard. If we approach this work solely through the lens of the dominant culture, we risk reproducing some of the implicit biases hard-wired due to white privilege that do not allow consideration for different lived experiences.
We must do better if we want this work to continue and succeed.