21.06.2021

"Racism is a Global Problem"

[Translate to Englisch:] Sarah Vecera (37) ist in Oberhausen geboren und hat Theologie, Religions- und Sozialpädagogik studiert. Seit 2013 arbeitet sie für die Vereinte Evangelische Mission (VEM) in Wuppertal, ist dort inzwischen stellvertretende Leiterin der Abteilung Deutschland und Bildungsreferentin mit Schwerpunkt „Rassismus in Kirche und Theologie“. Sie ist ordinierte Prädikantin und berichtet unter @moyo.me auf Instagram über ihre Rassismus-Erfahrungen. (Foto: privat)

In this interview, Sarah Vecera, deputy executive secretary of the Germany department at the United Evangelical Mission, talks about the founding of the UEM 25 years ago, a new understanding of partnership and healing processes in a racially charged world.

Ms. Vecera, with its 25th anniversary, the international UEM is celebrating the establishment of equality among its 39 members. Was that then also a farewell to a piece of racism in mission history?
Sarah Vecera: I wouldn't say racism. But it was a farewell to the colonial legacy that the mission has. We were international before, but for the last 25 years we have also been living our fellowship of churches at eye level. All our bodies, from the General Assembly and the International Council to our three offices in Wuppertal, Dar es Salaam and Pematang Siantar, are international.

Does the UEM still suffer from its colonial heritage?
Vecera: In our General Assembly, only seven of 39 members are from Germany and 32 from the global South. And they send their delegates to the Assembly according to their size. So the Germans are in the minority there. This also has an impact on the issues. The Germans, for example, always resist the concept of mission because it has such negative connotations for them. But it is important to the other members and they want to keep it in the name. Mission does not have such a negative sound in the African and Asian countries as it does in Germany. In Indonesia, no one is forcing the churches to celebrate the arrival of missionaries.

How does that affect the issue of racism?
Vecera: It helps to take different perspectives. Of course, we in Germany have a special relationship to the issue of racism because of our history. But if you look at Indonesia and the extreme relationship within a country with people from West Papua, it shows that we are talking about a global and structural problem that has grown historically. On the one hand, this makes it more complicated, but on the other hand it makes it easier, because we are not talking about individual racism, which as a concept is immediately associated with guilt and shame, but about a problem for which we can take responsibility together.

And which has what roots?
Vecera: Racism is a construct that arose from a Eurocentric, white perspective to legitimize exploitation and slavery. In racism studies, the year 1492, when Columbus discovered the Americas, is considered the beginning. So we have internalized this construct for more than 500 years, so we often don't even notice it anymore. The belief in the invention of human races still exists unconsciously in our minds today.

How does the UEM deal with internal racism today?
Vecera: UEM already says of itself that it is not a racism-free space either. We are sensitized, but we still live in this racist world. The economic conditions in the world have not changed, and this is also reflected in our member churches. But there are also moments when, for example, we are 17 years ahead of the German government when it comes to recognizing the genocide of the Herero and Nama people in Namibia. This is something that the UEM, together with the Namibian Bishop Kameeta, called for as early as 2004. Together, we can also initiate healing processes.

Did one of these processes last October also lead to the statement against racism?
Vecera: This process was very difficult. For us, it was not possible to summarize the statement on half a page because we are so deep in the subject matter, because it is so complex, because so much needs to be mentioned, and because so many different people were sitting around the table. The statement then came about, but it did not become short and thus shows the complexity of the topic well.

Have the past 25 years ensured that the understanding of give and take has changed among the partner churches of the UEM?
Vecera: The language is important. We don't talk about partner churches, but about member churches, because there is already a difference in the term "partner churches". But the issue of money remains difficult, because it can also mean that relationships are gambled away. At the UEM, we have now created structures in which partnerships are not dependent on money. But the expectations have certainly become even greater under Corona. To that end, the UEM has formed a task force to distribute funds as an international community. Our colleagues from Asia and Africa have just drafted a paper in which they take a critical look at partnerships. At first, this caused an incredible amount of outrage, but then it also led to exciting discussions, because for once our colleagues from the global South were bluntly honest.

How difficult is the topic of racism in general in the church?
Vecera: It depends on how deep you go. On a superficial level, we can't deny many things: that we are a white church; that we portray Jesus in a very white and Eurocentric way even in our children's Bibles; that not so long ago we provided paternalistic development aid and spread stereotypical images from Africa and Asia; that we learned theology exclusively from white people. Nor can we deny that we should confront racism because of our faith, because all people are created in God's image. But when it comes to consequences, people often say, "Then please give us three points on how to eliminate the problem. But we are talking about a 500-year-old construct. We have to take time for that, and racism has to become a cross-cutting issue in our church in the coming years. This is a marathon, not a sprint.

You've proposed a quota for People of Color. Why?
Vecera: Once People of Color are also figures of representation in crucial places, that attracts people. In the film industry, lead roles are cast with white people so that white audiences can identify with them. Conversely, this can work in the church as well: When People of Color participate in decision-making and shaping in our church, it becomes more diverse. When we plan programs in the UEM, we always bring in a German, an African and an Asian voice. But a quota alone won't do anything. We need to think about training and about recognizing foreign ordinations, as is already possible in the Rhenish Church. And we need anti-racism training for whites and empowerment training for people of color.

But racism plays no role in the church's self-image.
Vecera: We have learned that we are the good guys and yet we were already active in the anti-apartheid movement. Racism is the Nazis and the people with jump boots, but not us. The term is also so morally charged that it is of course difficult to acknowledge: All of us, including me, are not free of racist imprints and behaviors.

Where can communities get help with this issue?
Vecera: At the UEM, of course. We can't divide ourselves into ten parts and already have more requests than we have capacity for, but congregations are still welcome to get in touch. We have also launched the German blog "rassismusundkirche.de". It is intended to become a hub for this topic, so that congregations can inform themselves. There are personal statements, materials for children, young people and adults, for volunteer services and church services, and a list of speakers. And you can register as a congregation with your experiences and projects, thus enabling exchange among each other. Starting in July, a forum will also be set up where questions can be shared. Many people within the church are already dealing with this topic and this blog gives an impression of it.

One of these many people is you. Are you also experiencing hostility because of this?
Vecera: I shy away from certain social media. I deliberately don't have a YouTube channel, and Facebook is not that friendly either. I'm mainly on Instagram and there's mostly appreciative communication and a good culture of discussion. It was very critical after my epd interview with the quota demand. There was a lot of hate in the comments columns, but I don't read through all that. I think I was also an outlet for people who had already left the church and wanted to vent their frustration again. Otherwise, I tend to experience positive reactions in the networks to the fact that I take people into my everyday life and they can see what challenges there are as a person of color in this white society and in this white church. Because there are still a lot of reservations about the church in the anti-racist movement. Until that changes, the church has to deal with racism internally first, and then be able to broadcast something else.

The original interview by Ekkehard Rüger can be read here on the website of the Evangelical Church in the Rhineland.