宗教领袖为化解美国种族分歧而努力

Religious Leaders Work to Ease US Racial Divisions 宗教领袖为化解美国种族分歧而努力

“Let us love not with words or speech, but with actions and in truth.”

President Barack Obama turned to the Bible to describe what is needed to heal racial divisions in the United States. He read from John’s Gospel at the memorial service Tuesday for five police officers killed in Dallas.

But closing racial divisions is a challenge.

Many in America turn to places of worship for moral guidance. But LifeWay Research reported last year that 86 percent of Protestant pastors² say their congregations are mostly either black or white, leaving little chance for members of different races to talk with each other.

It isn’t much different than 1963 when civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. called 11 a.m. Sunday church services “the most segregated³ hour in this nation.”

Recent shootings raise racial division concerns

It has been a rough few weeks in America.

On July 7th, a black gunman shot and killed five police officers in Dallas, Texas. The gunman told police he was targeting white officers.

The shooting came the same week two African-American men were shot and killed by white police officers in separate incidents in Louisiana and Minnesota.

The shootings left some people questioning the state of race relations in the United States.

“Instead of pointing fingers, we need to figure out why so many police feel so stressed doing their job and why so many African-Americans feel targeted by the police,” said Curt⁴ Harlow, minister at the Bayside Church in Sacramento, California. He said his church has black and white members, offering a chance for honest discussion.

Percell Duckett is minister of the Ross Road Church in Memphis, Tenn., which also has both black and white members.

“We just had people from Black Lives Matter demonstrate -- I called it creating a little bit of civil disobedience,” Duckett said. “And many people wonder why they are doing that.”

If more whites went to church with blacks they would hear parents express fear their children could be killed by police for a minor⁵ car violation⁶, Duckett said.

Pastor¹ Susan Newman Moore of All Souls Church in Washington D.C., knows some people are troubled with the name Black Lives Matter. The criticism from some is that the name should be, “All Lives Matter, she said.

?What Newman Moore tells her diverse church is that the Black Lives Matter movement is very much like a parent with children.

“You love all your children. But if one child gets very sick, and has to go to the intensive care unit of the hospital, you are going to put all your attention on that sick child until he or she is better. Right now in America, black lives are in intensive care,” Newman Moore said.

Religious community can help reduce divisions

Traci Blackmon is senior minister at Christ the King United Church of Christ in Florissant, Missouri.

“Integration⁷, diversity is a good thing,” she told Voice of America. “But churches, regardless of whether they are all or mostly black, or all or mostly white, have a role to play because of their moral and religious standing⁸.”

“It isn’t just Christians⁹, but this mandate¹⁰ of caring for those who are facing difficulty is found in the Koran and the Talmud,” Blackmon said. Those are the books that provide the teachings of the Muslim and Jewish religions.

Some churches are trying to help their mostly black or mostly white congregations get to hear from members of other races.

In Hill County, Georgia, members of the mostly white Air Line Baptist Church plan to travel to the mostly black St. John Baptist Church for Sunday services.

The ministers of the two churches do not plan to talk about what is on their minds regarding recent events.

“I think that way too often we don’t listen to one another,” said Scott Moore, minister of Air Line Baptist. “I’ve been guilty of that myself -- not listening to other people’s opinions and thinking only about what I’m going to say.”

Carter bringing black and white Baptists together

Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter has helped organize the New Baptist Covenant¹¹ to bring mostly black and white Baptist churches together.

In Dallas, Texas. George Mason, minister of a mostly white Baptist Church, and Frederic Haynes, leader of a mostly black Baptist Church, joined Carter’s covenant. They wrote about the Dallas shootings in the Dallas Morning News.

“The only way that All Lives Matter is for each life to matter -- black or white, and in this tragic¹² case,” blue,” Mason and Haynes wrote. Blue is the color often given to police.

Ed Stetzer chairs the Billy Graham Center for Evangelism at Wheaton College. Stetzer said it makes sense that when blacks and whites sit down together to pray it will help.

Stetzer said many ministers recognize that they need to increase diversity. But there is nothing wrong, he said, with U.S. immigrants from Vietnam, Korea, or China wanting to worship together with fellow immigrants.

Words in This Story

bible -- n. a book of sacred writings. The Old Testament¹³ is used by the Jewish religion and the New Testament used by Christians

congregation -- n. the people who are attending a religious service

segregated -- adj. to separate groups of people because of their particular race

finger -- n. one of the five long parts of the hand that are used for holding things

stress -- n. a state of mental tension and worry caused by problems in your life, work

disobedience -- n. not obeying the rules

diverse -- adj. different from each other

integration -- n. to bring different races of groups together

role -- n. a part that someone or something has in a particular activity or situation

mandate -- n. a responsibility to do something

1 pastor   

n.牧师，牧人

参考例句：

• He was the son of a poor pastor.他是一个穷牧师的儿子。
• We have no pastor at present:the church is run by five deacons.我们目前没有牧师：教会的事是由五位执事管理的。

2 pastors   

n.（基督教的）牧师( pastor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Do we show respect to our pastors, missionaries, Sunday school teachers? 我们有没有尊敬牧师、宣教士，以及主日学的老师？ 来自互联网
• Should pastors or elders be paid, or serve as a volunteer? 牧师或长老需要付给酬劳，还是志愿的事奉呢？ 来自互联网

3 segregated   

分开的； 被隔离的

参考例句：

• a culture in which women are segregated from men 妇女受到隔离歧视的文化
• The doctor segregated the child sick with scarlet fever. 大夫把患猩红热的孩子隔离起来。

4 curt   

adj.简短的，草率的

参考例句：

• He gave me an extremely curt answer.他对我作了极为草率的答复。
• He rapped out a series of curt commands.他大声发出了一连串简短的命令。

5 minor   

adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修

参考例句：

• The young actor was given a minor part in the new play.年轻的男演员在这出新戏里被分派担任一个小角色。
• I gave him a minor share of my wealth.我把小部分财产给了他。

6 violation   

n.违反(行为)，违背(行为)，侵犯

参考例句：

• He roared that was a violation of the rules.他大声说，那是违反规则的。
• He was fined 200 dollars for violation of traffic regulation.他因违反交通规则被罚款200美元。

7 integration   

n.一体化，联合，结合

参考例句：

• We are working to bring about closer political integration in the EU.我们正在努力实现欧盟內部更加紧密的政治一体化。
• This was the greatest event in the annals of European integration.这是欧洲统一史上最重大的事件。

8 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

9 Christians   

n.基督教徒( Christian的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Christians of all denominations attended the conference. 基督教所有教派的人都出席了这次会议。
• His novel about Jesus caused a furore among Christians. 他关于耶稣的小说激起了基督教徒的公愤。

10 mandate   

n.托管地；命令，指示

参考例句：

• The President had a clear mandate to end the war.总统得到明确的授权结束那场战争。
• The General Election gave him no such mandate.大选并未授予他这种权力。

11 covenant   

n.盟约，契约；v.订盟约

参考例句：

• They refused to covenant with my father for the property.他们不愿与我父亲订立财产契约。
• The money was given to us by deed of covenant.这笔钱是根据契约书付给我们的。

12 tragic   

adj.悲剧的，悲剧性的，悲惨的

参考例句：

• The effect of the pollution on the beaches is absolutely tragic.污染海滩后果可悲。
• Charles was a man doomed to tragic issues.查理是个注定不得善终的人。

13 testament   

n.遗嘱；证明

参考例句：

• This is his last will and testament.这是他的遗愿和遗嘱。
• It is a testament to the power of political mythology.这说明，编造政治神话可以产生多大的威力。