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This is a Moral Emergency

April 28, 2021 by The Rev. Dr. Jennifer Copeland, Executive Director

The following message was presented on April 27, 2021 in Elizabeth City by Executive Director, the Rev. Dr. Jennifer Copeland, after the life of Andrew Brown Jr. was abruptly taken by law enforcement. Pastors from across NC join together to declare a “moral emergency.”

Last week on the morning after the jury rendered a verdict on the murder of George Floyd, the North Carolina Council of Churches issued a statement. We were cautiously hopeful that the verdict was a turning point, that now we could have real accountability. And then Andrew Brown, Jr., was shot in the back. Enough, enough.

Our statement had five important points. They’re on our website, you can find them. But I will share the summary with you. We say to the congregations we represent—18 by the way, Black and white, progressive and moderate—we say to all of them, but particularly to white people of faith and the historically white denominations: MAKE DISMANTLING RACISM A PRIORITY. We cannot stand on the sidelines cheering as our Black neighbors march. We must be with them in the marches, at the protests, but especially we must be with them in the work of dismantling a system that continues to kill black and brown people. We must eradicate this sin of racism.

I call on my white brothers and sisters to confess, or confess again, that we have been a part of this racist system. We must repent from passive acceptance of this system and move to active resistance to this system. We must accept God’s forgiveness and begin the hard work of restoration. May God have mercy on us all.

Filed Under: Blog

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About The Rev. Dr. Jennifer Copeland, Executive Director

Jennifer is a native of South Carolina and an ordained minister in The United Methodist Church. She loves South Carolina, but has managed to spend all but ten years of her adult life in North Carolina. Those ten years were spent pastoring United Methodist churches across the Upstate. She attended Duke University several times and in the process earned a BA, double majoring in English and Religion, a Master of Divinity, a PhD in religion, and a Graduate Certificate in Women’s Studies. Prior to coming to the Council, she spent 16 years as the United Methodist Chaplain at Duke University, where she also taught undergraduate and divinity school classes, served on committees and task forces, and attended lots of basketball games. She writes frequently for various publications when time permits and preaches regularly in congregations across North Carolina. Jennifer has two adult children, Nathan, who is a software developer in Durham, and Hannah, who is a digital marketing analyst in Charlotte. Jennifer is the overjoyed grandparent of Benjamin and Theodore.

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