DETROIT, Mich. — James Reese was in Washington, D.C. more than 50 years ago when Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his famous “I Have a Dream” speech on the steps of the Lincoln Monument in the midst of the Civil Rights Movement.
Speaking at Sunday’s plenary session for the 221st Presbyterian Church (USA) General Assembly in Detroit, Reese recalled the tension of that time brought on by racial issues, which still plagues society in many ways today.
Reese, now 90 years old and an ordained minister for 65 years, recalled the words of the Rev. Eugene Carson Blake, stated clerk of the United Presbyterian Church of the United States of America (UPCUSA) at the time, who stood with King that day. Blake talked of the racial injustice and white prejudice of the day that ate at the fabric of democracy.
“I was there that day, and it was an unforgettable experience,” said Reese, who has attended every General Assembly since 1974. “Blake said, ‘We do not come, therefore, to this Lincoln Memorial today in any arrogant spirit … or to judge or denounce America. We come in a reconciling and repentant spirit.
“We come continually in a reconciling spirit (meaning habitually or without cessation).”
Reese then addressed the notion of racial issues within the church, observing it is not something that should be occurring and praising the Presbyterian Church for its inclusive nature.
“There is no place in the life of the church for discrimination against any person,” he said. “No other denomination in all of Christendom has had a more pronounced statement of inclusiveness than has the Presbyterian Church. We have reinforced our statement with words of commitment … providing the message of salvation and the invitation to enter into committed discipleship according to the prophetic message of Jesus Christ.”
Reese said Blake referenced a troubled world in need of grace 51 years ago. Civil rights activist Medgar Evers was killed in Mississippi, a bombing at Birmingham, Ala., church killed four little girls, and President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in November.
A year later the Civil Rights Act was passed, and Edler G. Hawkins was chosen as the first African-American moderator of the UPCUSA General Assembly, signifying a change in the racial divide.
Reese pointed to that as one example of the Presbyterian denomination’s willingness to take a stand against racial inequality.
“We have racial and ethnic groups in the PCUSA today,” he said. “There is ongoing dialogue between the Presbyterian Mission Agency, the Office of the General Assembly and various councils and caucuses. Our denomination talks the talk and walks the walk.”
He addressed the denomination’s polity statement regarding race, observing that other denominations do not have such statements.
And he offered encouragement for continued attempts to bridge the racial gap.
“I know the issues of race and justice are not completely solved, and I recognize that more needs to be done,” Reese said. “Recognition can only make us stronger. I have sat at dozens of tables of decision making, and things didn’t always go as I wished. I felt marginalized, separated, ignored. But one thing I have never done: I have never left the table.”
As he closed, Reese asked those in attendance to remember 10 words: “We are richer with us. We are poorer without us.”
“We may not always be able to satisfy our differences or satisfy our past, but we can continually build, celebrate and embrace the diversity of our congregations and communities, and remember who we are,” he said. “As we look across at each other and go and leave here to go about denominational business and into the world, let’s commit ourselves to a ministry of reconciliation.”