VCC Magazine Fall 2019

Swords into plowshares: Deconstructing the false religion of white supremacy By Katherine S.R. Cantone

on horseback had been a site of public contestation since 2016, fueling already-active debates taking place in cities across the South about the meaning, intentionality, and legacies of abuse behind such monuments. On the two-year anniversary of Charlottesville’s traumatic events, Pastor Isaac Collins of Wesley Memorial United Methodist Church approached this conversation from a unique and refreshing lens: a Biblical one. While manyWhite Christians have been mouthpieces for the preservation of Confederate monuments, Collins and his co-leader Phil Woodson, pastor of First United Methodist Church, champion the opposite perspective—with not only detailed historical timelines, but Scripture to back it up. Collins led a six-week Bible study beginning on August 11, 2019 on Sunday mornings at 7:00 AM that not only focalized how Christians can interpret monuments to Confederate generals and other fonts of White supremacy, but actually took place at them. Each meeting of the study, titled “Swords into Plowshares: What the Bible says about injustice, idolatry, and repentance,” included components of a traditional Protestant worship service: communal prayer, song, and a message from a pastor. However, it also incorporated an “exposition” elaborating on the history of the particular monument for each week, followed by a time in which the congregation could reflect and respond. The study, which ended on September 15, was designed to be open and accessible to people of all backgrounds and spiritual inclinations. Collins, who has been pastor at Wesley for just over a year, explains: “I was motivated to start the study because I’m convinced

“The events of August 11 and 12” has become a recognizable phrase at the University of Virginia. Without mentioning the year (2017), the context, or even the location, students and Charlottesville residents immediately recognize the event being referenced as the murderous neo-Nazi rally that invaded their home just over two years ago. When affiliates of the Ku Klux Klan stormed UVA’s Grounds with torches and chants like “you will not replace us,” the city

and University were catapulted from what had been a mostly favorable yet understated position in the limelight of the national imaginary. Once simply known as a town surrounded by beautiful mountains and the home of Virginia’s flagship university, headlines heralded a new story of violence and lament that has come to define Charlottesville to international audiences. One resounding response was simply, “why Charlottesville?” It doesn’t take long to answer this question once one realizes that the relationship to White supremacy has roots far deeper than 2017 in the city’s history. The presumed goal of the protesters was to defend the potential removal of a memorial to Robert E. Lee erected in 1924 that dominates Emancipation Park (named Lee Park until June 2017) just off Charlottesville’s Downtown Mall. The massive statue of General Lee

V irginia C apitol C onnections , F all 2019

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