I understand that you received a mass email from the Trenton Anti-Racist Action group (TARA). I have deep sympathy for their efforts and agree with their goals and remain hopeful that we can minister to their deep seeded pain. After multiple pastoral phone calls with TARA, tending to their difficult emotions, we have gone through deliberate discussions as a staff and with those hosting the concert. I'd like to use this email to share with you the context of the situation, to describe our current strategy and to get your advice.

Context: R5 Productions is one of our long-term tenants and because of their success the church was recently featured by Rolling Stones as one the most successful Punk Rock venues in the country. As a result, we have many, many bands come in and out of the church, some of which are controversial. All the concerts are drug- and alcohol-free, but there have been times where violence has occurred. R5 Productions has a very strong staff and when conflict is anticipated they hire additional uniformed security and contact the local police, which they have done in this case. In addition, R5 researched One Life Crew and demonstrated that the concern is not with the band itself but with its potential attendees. For example, in the past One Life Crew held a concert attended by a/some members of a group called KSS, a nationalist group from Pennsylvania that is known for its "white power". As an organization, KSS has never attended concerts of One Life Crew and if any individual members attend our church and cause violence they will be immediately dealt with by professional security and/or the police. Unfortunately, TARA is deliberately provoked as a marketing strategy, aware that TARA will send these kinds of mass emails, which brings more attention to the concert and eventually sells more tickets. As staff of the church we have sought to listen to all sides, to research the context and to set clear boundaries. The first being the fact that R5 productions is ultimately responsible for their own bookings and have demonstrated the ability to professionally manage equally contentious situations in the past. The second being that our church stands for the principles of democracy, one being freedom of speech and to uniformly stand against those who promote hate-speech.

Strategy: Therefore, rather than choose to censor bands hosted by R5 Productions, we have offered to work with Trenton Anti-Racist Action to create a civic process that will get us all talking about racism and homophobia. I believe that this conflict is a powerful opportunity to minister together. Here are some concrete examples that make up our strategy. (1) To date, we have invited One Life Crew to meet with me and a camera crew to talk about racism, homophobia and the difference between free-speech and hate-speech. The ministerial philosophy is simple: racism and homophobia is healed by being in relationship; therefore, by meeting with an openly gay minister who is in an interracial relationship there may be opportunity for moral and spiritual growth on all sides. (2) We are willing to work with Trenton Anti-Racist Action to demonstrate with them against any actions that KSS have taken and publicly witness against hate-speech. We hope to work with other members of the community and area congregations to stand against oppression. (3) Our primary concern is about safety, therefore we have been working with R5 to ensure that adequate measures are being taken. We will do everything in our power to create a secure, safe and healthy setting in order to publicly engage in some of the most morally challenging issues of our time.

In closing, know that this strategy is built upon the legacy of those who came before. Our congregation's first settled minister, William Furness had armed guards at his side while he preached his abolitionist message before and during the Civil War. What courage it took to stand face to face to those slave owners in his congregation and to take such risks. I believe now is the time, more than ever, not to shrink from controversy but to courageously use this conflict as an opportunity for ministry.

Advice: What do you think of this strategy? Do you have any advice? If so, please call my cell phone - my preferred form of communication. Rather than mass emails, let's have a dialogue and if needed we can arrange a conference call so others can chime in. I respect you all and look forward to your input.

Peace,
Nate

Rev. Nathan C. Walker, Minister
First Unitarian Church of Philadelphia
Call my cell phone (215) 701-9072
so we can practice the art of
Deep Listening & Loving Speech