Beaufort pastors denounce racism after death of George Floyd. Here’s what they plan
Beaufort pastors will gather in prayer Friday in what organizers say is an effort to provide a unified message denouncing racism.
More than 20 pastors are expected to meet at noon in front of the Beaufort County Courthouse on Ribaut Road.
“We just felt there had not been a united Christian voice speaking out to racism and what we feel like our faith says to recent events,” said David Holland, lead pastor of Tidal Creek Fellowship.
The idea for the prayer meeting began with a Zoom call among a handful of pastors last week. The regular discussions had been focused on the coronavirus pandemic and practices the churches had been following.
After the killing of George Floyd at the hands of police and nationwide protests, including one not far from the courthouse in Beaufort, the talks turned to what the Christian leaders should say publicly in additional to individual sermons to their congregations. The Beaufort area has multiple smaller groups of pastors but lacks a comprehensive ministerial organization, Holland said.
“We hope it will begin something in us to get together in a larger way,” he said.
Revs. Randy Roberts, of Love House Ministries and who is Black, and Shay Gaillard, rector of Parish Church of St. Helena and who is white, drafted a statement signed by more than a dozen pastors that included references to the deaths of Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery. The statement denounces “the unjust violence and loss of life that has occurred in the African American community through the misuse of law enforcement...”
“Together we lament the anguish, extreme hurt, and trauma that this injustice causes people of color in our community and nation (Psalm 35:14),” the statement said. “We join with those who march and peacefully protest, especially in our community ‘Unified Beaufort’ as together we call out the sin of racism and proclaim the hope of equality.”
Full statement from Beaufort-area pastors
We, the undersigned pastors from Beaufort, South Carolina, speak together on this day through the unity and hope we find in Jesus Christ.
Together we decry the sin of racism and the ongoing systemic inequity that we find in our community and in our nation. We believe that all men and women share infinite value and worth because we are created in the image of God (Genesis 1:27) and because Jesus Christ died for us (2 Corinthians 5:14).
Together we decry the unjust violence and loss of life that has occurred in the African American community through the misuse of law enforcement that includes the loss of life of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd among many others. We also stand against the random violence visited upon Ahmaud Arbery and others prolonging the legacy of lynching. We proclaim that our calling as Christians compels us to do justice and love mercy and walk humbly with our God (Micah 6:8).
Together we lament the anguish, extreme hurt, and trauma that this injustice causes people of color in our community and nation (Psalm 35:14). We join with those who march and peacefully protest, especially in our community “Unified Beaufort” as together we call out the sin of racism and proclaim the hope of equality.
Together we proclaim the hope that in Jesus Christ the dividing walls of hostility have been cast down (Ephesians 2:14), and so we commit ourselves to pray, speak, organize, and act for the sake of justice and healing in the name of Jesus Christ in Beaufort.
