Ethnically Speaking by Larry Meeks

Dear Larry: I am the pastor of a medium-sized African-American church. On any given Sunday, we have at least 250 people. I have been trying to entice more people from the surrounding community. Over the years, the community has changed from almost 100 percent black to mostly Mexican-Americans, whites and Asians.

I have determined that the best way to make the church reflect the community is to start with the children. It is a known fact that if you get the children to attend, the parents will soon follow.

With that strategy in mind, during the past few years, I have been able to get a few non-African-Americans to attend, but the results have been less than expected. No, the results have been terrible. The nonblack children were not treated kindly by the congregation — both children and adults.

The young visitors or new potential members were called names by the black children. They were told they were not welcome and to go to their own churches. They even were told they could not be in the choir because it would not be right for them to sing black gospel songs.

The parents of the misbehaving children are not helpful in correcting their children's behavior. I get the impression the parents would like to see the situation disappear without being involved.

Larry, it is so disheartening to see blacks acting in such an ungodly way and copying the behavior of others they complained about for years. I believe these racist actions are just as bad as the actions of whites who tried to keep the little children from attending the public school in Little Rock, Ark., more than 50 years ago.

I have given sermons on treating others with Christian kindness, but it has not resulted in the kind of behavior I consider acceptable or inviting of others.

I have counseled the people who I think are acting wrong, but the same racist attitude persists.

I have read your column for years and admire your thinking. I never have read anything about changing attitudes in a church. I am open to any suggestions you may have on this thorny topic.

I will keep you in my prayers. — Frustrated Pastor

Dear Pastor: Your letter reveals one of the dirty little secrets that still exist in America: church racism. Notice I did not say religious racism.

The most segregated time in America happens every week on Sunday. I am sorry to say that to my knowledge, no so-called leader speaks out on this subject. In fact, the president-elect is guilty of this kind of behavior.

Now that the presidential election is over and the president-elect has separated himself from the Rev. Wright, I hope he will set the example in words and deeds.

Regarding your church, I would continue with the kind of sermons that bring about togetherness and fairness among races. I also would bring all the church leaders together, tell them what is happening, and demand that they confront anyone who has a problem worshipping with other races.

Regarding the children, I would assign a special friend to each new person who visits your church. This special friend would be the kind of person who is respected by others and would be the kind of individual in front of whom racists would be afraid to act out. This special friend never would allow the new person to be alone, and he would do everything to demonstrate the kind of behavior that is reflective of your mission.

I believe that once your church has a number of other racial groups, your members will become used to the idea, and it will lead to a change in their attitude.

Write again in six months, and let me know whether there is a change.

To find out more about Larry G. Meeks and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com.

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