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Todd Gusler lives in Lancaster, Pennsylvania where he is the pastor of Rossmere Mennonite Church. On Sunday May 31, 2020 a protest against police brutality and the murder of George Floyd was scheduled to be held in downtown Lancaster. Organized by a local group, the protest was meant to be a car rally so people could participate while socially distancing from each other due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Participants were to drive a prearranged route that went past the police station. Below is an account of Todd’s experience that was originally posted to his Facebook page.
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Goshen College Alumnus Dan Haarer wrote these reflections on a lifetime of experiences to share with family and friends. We share this with Dan's permission.
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Ken Hochstetler, President and CEO of Everence, discusses how the first seven months of 2020 have brought dramatic change and upheaval for all of us – and it’s during times of uncertainty that our relationships with each other are more essential than ever.
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We must look deeper at what it means to live in community with one another. From the disproportionate impact COVID-19 has had on diverse and economically disadvantaged communities to attacks on people of color to protests denouncing injustice across our country, it is imperative that we consider how our neighbors, brothers, sisters and friends experience community – as well as if, how and why their experiences may differ from our own. To help all of us step up to this responsibility, Everence has developed a Faith, Race and Money reading list might help you and/or your group learn more about issues of race, faith, money and injustice – how they came to be, intersect, and continue to impact communities of color yet today.
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News release: Praxis Mutual Funds®, a fund family of Everence®, signed on to letters calling on Nike, Pepsi, and FedEx to terminate their business and public relationships with the National Football League’s Washington, D.C., franchise if it does not stop using the name “Redskins,” a term long considered racist by American Indians.
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Understanding the reality of low-to-moderate income communities in the age of COVID-19 and Black Lives Matter.
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All of us at Praxis Mutual Funds®, a fund family of Everence Financial®, are distraught by the systemic racism and police violence plaguing our country. We commit ourselves to using the many tools at our disposal as investors – screening, shareholder engagement, proxy voting, positive impact bonds, community investing and more to address the inequity and systemic racism that infect our lives in so many ways. We can do more. We can do better ... and we must.
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From Everence President and CEO Ken Hochstetler, in response to the discrimination and oppression that are an ever-present and daily reality for many who are part of the Everence family – including our employees and members.
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News Release: Mennonite Church USA released a statement on racial injustice today in response to events surrounding the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The statement calls for its congregations “to stand in solidarity with communities of color, walk alongside them and, indeed, be led by them.”
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When a number of residents learned clergy from across the Lancaster, PA area were holding a vigil in support of George Floyd and others in downtown Lancaster on Friday June 5, they wanted to participate. However, they also knew staying home was the best way to keep themselves and neighbors safe from COVID-19. So, using the resident Listserv, they put out the word for a silent vigil to take place at the same time on The Crossings Green. By the time it started, around 80 residents and team members gathered, while practicing physical distancing, for nine minutes of silent reflection and witness. Following this time a card was made available to sign that will be sent to the Floyd family.
Resident Ken Langeman sent the email that got the idea started. He said, “We wanted to go and be part of the vigil, but knew that might put ourselves and others here at risk. So I sent a note sharing the idea of gathering here. The purpose was to silently express anguish about what is currently happening in our country, in solidarity with those who were gathering in Lancaster. We made sure to tell those who were attending to come with face coverings and observe physical distancing.”
In addition to the silent time of reflection and prayer, this event also elicited heartfelt comments from other residents. Don Tyrell shared from his experiences. “So why am I attending the vigil? What do I have to protest? Well I’m attending and protesting because I believe in what the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution and the Bill of Rights say about equality, life, liberty and freedom. I’m attending and protesting because I see these values being ignored, reviled and cast aside by too many of my fellow Americans. I’ve done this before. I’ve walked in sympathy with Dr. Martin Luther King in the 60s, I’ve attended sit-ins and love-ins to bring an end to the war in Vietnam. I’ve donated to all the “right” causes. Now I have to ask what have I accomplished? Well, the war in Vietnam ended. But racism, conscious or unconscious, active or passive, whether with intent or out of ignorance, continues to plague our country and our world.”
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Reflection on an Anabaptist Christian response to racial injustice that Rolando L. Santiago gave on Sunday, July 26, to the Cornerstone Sunday School class, Neffsville Mennonite Church, via Zoom.
