A White Woman’s Prayer of Confession

This past spring I was presented with an opportunity to submit a piece to Christians for Biblical Equality International’s magazine, Mutuality. The theme focused broadly on the intersection of race and the egalitarian movement within the church. I jumped in, nerves and all, and submitted the prayer of confession linked below.

Read the full prayer of confession here.

What have you noticed about the church’s efforts towards egalitarianism? What have your experiences of this been, particularly around race or racism?

Authors Note

As you read the prayer, I would like to offer a note on my use of “the table.” I originally used this general phrase to describe how whiteness often perpetuates the exclusion of other people and perspectives. It does not mean white people have any type of inherent ownership of “the table,” but that white supremacy has inappropriately dominated the marketplace, the pulpit, and almost everything in between through colonialism, racism, and sexism.

Now, the Table (with a capital T) is a phrase that isn’t in this prayer, but has appeared in other places in my writing and refers to the Eucharistic table built and sustained by Christ. This Table is open to all of human-kind. It does not exclude or turn anyone away. Only Love and righteousness dominates this Table.

I believe this distinction is important to note. I hope this clarification is helpful.

This prayer originally appears in the Summer 2021 issue of Mutuality, found here.