A Space for Lament and Prayer

By Redeemer Presbyterian Church’s Grace and Race Ministry

In the summer of 2015, Redeemer Presbyterian Church formed a ministry led by staff members across its family of churches and partners in New York City. Grace and Race is a group of men and women who have come together to embrace the Gospel call to redeem relationships across ethnic and racial barriers.

This embrace has manifested itself over the years in a number of ways. One of the first events Grace and Race held was “Why Race Matters to God and What That Means For Us,” a conversation led by Abraham Cho that focused on the reality of systemic racism, what it means to tell the truth to one another, and how we can seek mutual justice across difference. Since that event, Grace and Race has invited several speakers to share their hearts and conviction, including Tim Keller, Bryan Stevenson, Rich Villodas, Sho Baraka and Propaganda, and Min Jin Lee and Michael Luo.

Most recently, Grace and Race created a space for lament and prayer as New Yorkers were invited to cry out to God and grieve the reality of the racism and racial disparities that have arisen in the time of COVID-19. During this time, hard truths were shared and gut-wrenching questions were asked as anguish, sorrow, and pain were lifted up, collectively, to God. 

In the opening prayer by Eva Ting, she prayed, “Break our hearts for what our Latino and African American neighbors are experiencing, and spur us all toward the sovereign love and power of Jesus Christ, so that we may witness and participate in your healing grace and justice in all of our communities and cities.” Later, Charles Chung in righteous anger prayed, “We cry out for the elderly Chinese man from San Francisco that was mocked, abused, and assaulted as he was pushing his shopping cart of recycled plastic down the street. We cry out for the woman from Borough Park in Brooklyn that was attacked by a man, who threw acid on her, as she was simply throwing out her garbage. How long, O Lord?”

The time of prayer and lament was a reminder of the beauty that can come to this earth when God’s people gather and raise their voices together in the face of injustice and suffering. Sadly, it seems that more and more spaces like this are desperately needed not just in New York, but across America.

Until that need no longer exists, Grace and Race stands in full agreement with the “Statement on Anti-Asian Racism in the Time of COVID-19.” We deeply appreciate how this conversation has been framed. We will seek to always publicize our support and solidarity with our brothers and sisters who face the very things that continue to spur the need for faithful, courageous statements and faithful, courageous action.

As the statement concludes, “May the name of Jesus be glorified as we, his collective body, pursue truth, justice, restoration, and unity.” Amen.

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Grace and Race is a group within Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City that seeks to embrace the Gospel call to redeemed relationships across ethnic/racial barriers. We do so by providing events and spaces for prayer, conversation, and the sharing of cultural goods across racial/ethnic lines.