June 1 was set aside for a national day of prayer to remember the 100,000 plus lives lost to COVID-19 in the United States. At the same time, all across the United States we grapple with the harsh reality that racism continues to threaten and divide our society. We are asking our McMurry community to reflect on the racial crisis that has erupted this past week and to work toward building and enhancing communication across racial and cultural divides.
To all of our black students, faculty, staff, and alumni – you are significant, and you matter.
As we work to help each other cope with and understand what has happened, we continue to embrace our University’s core values. We ask our community to be in deep reflection and prayer over the systemic injustices and civil unrest we have all seen and may be experiencing. In this time of physical distancing, we must be unified in support and commitment to creating a campus community that is inclusive and just for all.
As a United Methodist-affiliated institution, our campus holds fast in support of our Council of Bishops, and leans on the words of Bishop Bruce Ough of the Dakotas/Minnesota annual conference:
“We begin by acknowledging that racism is sin and antithetical to the gospel.
We confess and denounce our own complicity.
We take a stand against any and all expressions of racism and white supremacy, beginning with the racial, cultural, and class disparities in our state and country that are highlighted by the coronavirus pandemic.
We sound the clarion call for the eradication of racism.
We challenge governmental leaders who fan the flames of racial division for political gain.
We examine our own attitudes and actions; all change begins with transformed hearts continually yielding to the righteousness and love of God.”
We conclude with the words from Isaiah,
But now, says the Lord —
the one who created you, Jacob,
the one who formed you, Israel:
Don’t fear, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by name; you are mine.
(Isaiah 43:1 CEB translation)
At McMurry, we will be visible and active in our support of combating racism and fighting the injustices that it brings into a community. We pledge to continue our mission and work of finding solutions that address the safety of the entire McMurry community while we tackle the challenges of the global village, in which we all live.
Sandra S. Harper, PhD
President