PCA Church Holds Segregated ‘Black Only’ Event To Celebrate Black History Month
Resurrection Oakland Church in Oakland, CA, (ResOak) is a growing multi-ethnic, multi-generational church that is part of the conservative Presbyterian Church in America (PCA.) It is led by pastors Brent Webster and Dave Lee, a White man and an Asian man, respectively.
While we would typically never include details about a person’s race, it’s relevant insofar as part of Black History Month, they are holding a segregated church event for black members only, making these two pastors possibly precluded from attending.
Weeks ago, the church (as flagged by Megan Basham*) announced that the Rev. Irwyn Ince, who heads up the PCA’s mission network (which got into some hot water a few weeks ago after featuring an article that instructed illegal immigrants how to avoid deportation by ICE by concealing their identities) would be joining them for an event where he would be speaking on “race, justice, and theology,” and where all congregants were encouraged to attend.
However, the church revealed it would also be holding a registered “Black Fellowship Dinner” for “Black Worshippers” only, which White Folks were prohibited from attending.
And:
Pastor Webster explains:
(Irwyn Ince is) gonna come out and on Friday night, we’re gonna have a fellowship dinner for our black brothers and sisters and their families in our congregation with Dr. Ince. And one of our core values here as a church is ‘diversity.’ We want it to be a church that reflects not just the diversity of our city, but the diversity of the kingdom of God. Amen.
And one of the great joys for me has been seeing a growing community of black brothers and sisters in our church over these last couple years. And so we’re having a dinner that night. We’ve loved seeing this, we love diversity, we love seeing a community of people who look very, very different, brought together in a single family.
We also love helping people to connect in our church. And that really is one of the primary goals of this fellowship dinner that we’re having, is to give our black brothers and sisters and their families a chance to connect with one another as they eat with Dr. Ince.
Pastor Lee adds:
On Friday the 21st from 6:30 to 8:30, we’re gonna have a Black Fellowship Dinner. Let me just say something about what this is and why we’re doing it.
This is a special opportunity for Black brothers and sisters in our congregation to connect with one another. We have a growing community of Black worshipers and congregants, which is really exciting. And it may be jarring for some of you to hear that we’re creating an event for Black Christians.
When you come to church, and you’ve been coming to ResOak, you know how much we love and prize diversity. We believe that the kingdom of God, that heaven is diverse, and that’s something that we celebrate.
But we also love helping people connect with one another. And so in the same way that we might have a men’s breakfast or a woman’s brunch, we want to help our black brothers and sisters come and connect. This is going to be an informal event. Pastor Ince is going to be there to join us for that.
Meet somebody who comes to the 9 a.m. service. Bring a friend. This is another amazing event to invite a friend to. And we are really excited to be able to do this.
Of course, if this event indeed is for black members to get to know other black members, why are black friends who seemingly don’t attend this church invited? Doesn’t that defeat the whole purpose of getting to know church family?
Furthermore, why aren’t there any white-only events for white folks to get to know other white folks? Don’t they deserve to connect as well? Why facilitate one and not the other?
Ince has previously spoken on the importance of having “black spaces,” as can be seen here:
*After calling attention to this, Basham was excoriated by Dr. Anthony Bradley in a particularily obstreperous fashion.
About Author
It must be Hell on earth to live a life viewed only through the color of your skin.