Devotional
Journey
Toward Reconciliation
by Mary Elva Smith
View From Elmina Castle, Ghana
 It
was unexpected---my reaction, that is. I had read about the slave-holding
castle and I expected to feel pain and sadness, even be moved
to tears. I was struck by the starkness of the high white walls
and the realization of what the walls once contained, contrasted
with the beauty of the scene beyond the castle walls. Outside,
clear skies, a blue ocean and God's beautiful creation; inside
God's beautiful people held in captivity to be sold or to die.
The tears did not come then, but sadness did, followed by horror
when I discovered that a church existed in the center of this
castle. As a privileged white woman, I have lived at the expense
of others. In addition, the Church I love and serve participated
in slavery from its inception. My shame and sadness grew.
I was honored to take part in the 2002 PW Global Exchange to
East and West Africa, to travel with a diverse group of women
and learn together to face our history from whatever role our
ancestors played. To question and reflect, to acknowledge where
we are now and to be welcomed by our African sisters was truly
a gift. The opportunity I see now is to walk with my sisters,
learn from them and support them in the ways they invite me to
do so. I cannot change the past, but I can make a difference
today and in the future. I know that reconciliation is possible
because I, and all Presbyterian women, have been invited to share
in the transforming work of women in Ghana.
Of course, reconciliation with Africans in Africa is only one
part of the story. Reconciliation with African Americans in the
United States is not the same. Though actions taken by the Anglo-Saxons
and Europeans hundreds of years ago hurt all Africans and were
destructive to their homeland, North Americans today face different
challenges and bear the pain of slavery differently. Apartheid
in the United States is still being dismantled. Until those with
the privilege of whiteness recognize what that means and begin
to deconstruct the world of white privilege, reconciliation is
unlikely, if not impossible.
The story of slavery is our story---from Accra, Ghana in Africa
to Louisville, Kentucky, in the United States and on around the
world. How do we continue to redress the wrongs done? What does
it mean to have power? How will we use the privilege we have
as we respond to God's call? Who has privilege and what is it?
There are many questions. Together, we have an opportunity to
consider them, identify our role and hear God's call to us today.
Gracious God, let
justice roll down like water.
Open each of us to the possibility of change and
the promise of your Spirit to be with us.
Transform our thinking, change our hearts,
provide a clear call to act and give us the strength
to move in the direction we need to go.
Amen.
Mary Elva Smith is the associate director for the Women's
Ministries Program Area, National Ministries Division, PC(USA).
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