Search PNC News for stories of people and churches in our UCC Conference:

 

UCC leader talks of ‘Disrupting the Narrative’

Speaking on “Disrupting the Narrative” at the PNC-UCC Annual Meeting in April, the Rev. Dr. Karen Georgia Thompson, general minister and president/CEO of the United Church of Christ, opened with a poem “nonplussed” she wrote in 2020, seven months into the Covid pandemic.

Karen Georgia Thompson, general minister and president/CEO of UCC

Karen Georgia said she came to celebrate, wonder, grieve, fellowship and love those gathered at the PNC-UCC Annual Meeting as family and as church. She reminded the PNC that the UCC and is part of the body of Christ at work in the world bringing the good news in this age.

As the conference discerned its theme, “Forward Together,” Karen Georgia’s sermon was informed by the text for the theme: “We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be made visible in our bodies.” 2 Cor. 4:8-10

Her poem catches the confusion of imagining how the past normal—with injustices of patriarchy and generational trauma from tyranny—could yield to a new way of living with privilege overthrown and rituals of healing and resistance “conjuring new identities welcoming new alliances and seeking resurrection.”

Karen Georgia wrote the poem as poet-in-residence in response to academic papers on the theme “Doing Theology in the New Normal.”

“What was the normal to which we had grown accustomed? This normal would need to be confronted if anything new was to emerge in the world and if our theological rumination were to be responsive to what we see in the world,” she said. “Four years later, we are grappling with the same topsy-turvy, upside down world where injustice prevails by many names and social conditions.”

“Nonplussed” implies a person is so surprised or confused, they are unsure how to react. They are bewildered, Karen Georgia explained, suggesting that nonplussed is not the way to be in these days

“Inactivity renders us complicit to perpetuate what inhibits others’ flourishing,” she said.

Instead of being caught off guard, she called people to be ready to step into action that “detects, disrupts and dismantles” injustices and inequities.

Karen Georgia agrees with author Chimimande Adichie on “The Danger of a Single Story” related to media, saying one perspective can support default assumptions, conclusions and decisions that are incomplete and lead to misunderstandings and generalizations.

Karen Georgia said the church needs to be wary of a single story, prevailing narratives that create complicity, lead to generalizations and leave people nonplussed about what is happening.

“Neocolonialism is alive and well. A globalized economy continues to ensure the rich get richer, and the poor get poorer,” she said, noting that the global condition is evident on streets where homelessness prevails, in classrooms where children go hungry, and in businesses where the disparity of earnings widens the wealth gap.

“Neocolonialism is evident in the use of politics, culture and other pressures to control developing countries”—with loans they can’t repay and pressure to conform with votes or face recrimination and loss of aid, she said.

Karen Georgia clarified that, while neocolonialism refers to pressure of colonizers on formerly colonized, the U.S. currently colonizes other countries and asserts its will based on greed and wealth.

“A single narrative says this is the land of opportunity, the best place to live. It compels us to believe all can be wealthy if they work hard,” she said.

In the midst of this is the narrative the church is in decline, she said, citing a recent Gallup poll, reporting that 3 in 10 U.S. adults attend religious services regularly—67 percent of Mormons and 44 percent of Protestants, including nondenominational churches.

The data affirms what is evident Sunday mornings across faiths: Many are disaffiliating.

Along with that narrative, the world is at war, with conflicts escalating globally, bringing death, starvation and human rights abuses, she said.

The Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights that monitors more than 110 armed conflicts, notes that some conflicts make headlines and others do not. Some started recently and others have lasted more than 50 years.

“What does this mean for us?” Karen Georgia asked, turning to the rise of white Christian nationalism, which according to a Yale university blog has roots hundreds of years ago and “bubbles up during periods when white Christians feel threatened by outside forces—amplified by war, immigration and economic instability.

“This brand of Christianity is hate-filled and destructive. It espouses values antithetical to the gospel call and scriptures ‘emphasis on love and loving neighbor as self,” she said.

The apostle writing the new church in Corinth addresses issues it faces, disrupting the narrative of the day with the word “but,” a small, overused, misunderstood word, introducing a phrase or clause that contrasts with what has been said.

“This little word corrects the first thing said by bringing a new thought or idea to the table. The example at dictionary.com is, ‘She stumbled, but didn’t fall.’ When a person stumbles, the conclusion is they will fall. “But’ makes a different conclusion,” she said.

In 2 Corinthians, there are assumptions and conclusions from what is going on in the new church. The people were persecuted, challenged and confused as they learned what it meant to be Christian. The author wrote these people to disrupt the narrative of the day. The narrative was that they were afflicted, perplexed, persecuted and struck down.

In the midst of that, the author provided hope by reframing the narratives of the day: “We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed.”

Karen Georgia pointed out that “but” indicates the impossibility of anything other than what is stated happening, “but God.”

“The contrasts and disruption in the text lead to the impossibility of anything but God because we always carry in the body Jesus’ death, so Jesus’ life may be visible in our bodies,” she said. “This is the power available to disrupt the narratives of this day.”

Verse 7 makes it clear the extraordinary power to disrupt belongs to God, and “does come from us.” 

“So we can walk with power and authority to disrupt narratives and single stories of our day,” she asserted. “Numbers in pews may be decreasing, but we are serving our communities, feeding the homeless, tutoring children, and advocating for women’s rights.”

While some in the church may be silent, the church is the voice of the voiceless, in streets marching and standing up for the rights of others, she said.

“The church may have been complicit, but we will decolonize the church and ensure the right for all to be free. The world may be at war, but we will advocate for peace and justice, calling our legislators to ensure we are not supporting efforts that bring death and limit the flourishing of others,” Karen Georgia said. “We can do this because in this body that is the church, we carry Jesus’ death so Jesus’ life may be made visible in our bodies. This is the resurrection power.”

It’s the power “to punch beyond our weight, live into the impossibilities and know we can do the impossible—‘but God!’ Our faith matters in this day,” she said.

“The theme, ‘Forward Together,’ is about being unified in resistance. We can make a difference. We do not have to succumb to the narrative that drains our energies and maims our spirits. We do not have to create or support narratives that do not witness to Jesus’ life made visible in us and the power of the Holy Spirt at work in us, around us and through us,” she affirmed.

“We are the disrupters of this day, bringing new life and freedom to a world in need. The church is alive and well disrupting prevailing narratives and creating new life through Jesus,” Karen Georgia said. “We can do this—together—but God!”

She asked the PNC as it goes forward together what are the prevailing narratives they need to disrupt. In disrupting these narratives, what is the vision might they create?

“We are disrupters and creators daring to bring new light to the confusion of our day,” said Karen Georgia, closing with a poem, “together,” she wrote two years ago for the Strengthen the Church offering campaign.

It’s about walking side-by-side as people of faith, boldly building new communities as the presence of God, embracing unity in diversity, visioning possibilities of churches revitalized, strengthening the churches, tearing down walls and building bridges together, she concluded.

For information, visit ucc.org.

 

 

 

 

Share this article on your favorite social media