CULTURAL BONDAGE

 

WHEREAS the Gospel of Jesus Christ shatters the bar­riers of-race,  nation, and culture making the human family one in His Son Jesus Christ; and

WHEREAS the white middle class dominance of Lutheranism is evident in the attendance at this conference; and

WHEREAS the predominantly lilly whiteness of our conference is a scandal to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ; and

WHEREAS the composition of our conference manifests our bondage to white, middle class culture and values;

 

BE IT RESOLVED: THAT WE, THE LSM:

*Acknowledge and repent our cultural bondage

*Urge and encourage local LSM groups and people to pursue dialog with churches that have more culturally_ pluralistic constituencies,

*Urge and encourage local LSM groups and people to engage in dialog with non-whites in their various communities so that their consciousness with respect to non-whites may be raised,

*Ask the LSM Executive Council to gather, make avail able, and advertise the availability of resources o Black theology, Asian Theology, American Indian theology, and Latin American theology,

*Communicate the concerns of the resolution to NLCM and LC MS campus ministries, in particular the Black Lutheran Caucus, and encourage their participation and support in the implementation of this resolution. *Ask the LSM Executive Council to contact the following:

1.      Task Force on Hispanic Ministries, LCUSA

2.      Black Lutheran Caucus of Campus Ministry

3.      Pastor Tom Gotsch (LMHE NYC) in reference to ministry to Asian Americans

4.      Ministry of Blacks in Higher Education

5.      Gene Crawford, National Indian Lutheran Board

These people. and groups should be contacted in order to: a.) assist with gathering of resource material, b) help locate congregations with minority Lutheran students c,) Get minority input into the planning of the next LSM National Conference.

*Direct the LSM Executive council to send Regional Field Secretaries to visit student. congregations with Lutheran minority. members and encourage their participation in LSM activities.

 

 

ACTIONS TAKEN:

            The national LSM Council struggled with the' instructions of the resolution to get minority input into the planning of the 1976 Conference. In an effort to be faithful to the resolution, they decided to invite people from the offices listed in the resolution to attend the national perspective meeting for the LSM Conference ( a planning meeting early in the year to initiate work toward the conference) and critique it as an aid to the planning process of the 1976 con­ference.

 

 

The Great Lakes regional LSM conference held spring of 1976 had as its theme:

 

"Myth America: Christian Freedom-American Freedom"- An Experience in Interdependence

 

The underlying theme of the interdependence of human beings both within this country and globally was presented by Curt Gast (campus pastor at Ohio State). He emphasized that we are one with each other as children of God, that we occupy one planet together and thus have a common destiny. He spoke of our interdependence even though our actions belie the fact, and told of some of his experiences as he began to come to grips with racism and poverty in this country.

Gast's talk was followed by responses from. Gloria Lewis (Black campus minister for the Cleveland area) and Dave Hernandez (Hispanic-American seminarian from Dayton)

Both pointed out (gently) the all-whiteness of our conference and contributed reflections from their cultural perspectives.

Interest groups were held on the following topics: Hispanic-American issues, Church/Community/University relations, Values Clarification, Bible Study using "Jesus Christ Frees and Unites", and the WSCF.

 

During the evening small groups played Baldiser, a game which stimulates awareness of global economic problems.

 

Questions posed by the conference:

1.         Does there have to be a contradiction between the American dream and the Christian dream?

2.         What are the implications of the Pauline symbiotic community for the actions we assume as a community?

3.         Can we discover an area of commonality between Christians and Marxists? Perhaps in the area of the quality of life? Need to encourage Christian/ Marxist dialog.

4.           Can we define and/or redefine job descriptions in terms of quality instead of quantity?

5.           Are we willing to contend from a Biblical perspective with traditional economists who say that sharing is a myth?