The Society of Christian Ethics exists to promote scholarly research in the field of Christian Ethics.  At the same time, that scholarship, and the lives of the members of the Society, are not cut off from the world.  The present moment is one in which we, the members of the Cabinet of the SCE, feel conscience-bound to speak up.  No one should remain silent in the face of the murders of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery and so many others.  No one—least of all scholars of Christian ethics, scholars of a tradition formed in discipleship to One crucified for his willingness to stand in solidarity with the most marginal and oppressed. We cannot remain silent in the face of police brutality that continues unabated despite year after year of protests in the streets.  And we cannot remain silent in the face the structural injustices that have rendered so many of our Black brothers and sisters, together with other people of color, disproportionately vulnerable to COVID-19, that condemn so many to low-wage jobs, food deserts, elevated air pollution levels, and tainted water.  Many in our Society have experienced these injustices and outrages in their own bodies, have experienced what it is like to be stopped for Jogging While Black, Driving While Black, Breathing While Black.  Many more in our Society have lived lives of White Privilege, able to ignore or step away from these realities.  In this present moment of crisis, we feel called publicly to denounce the structural injustices that are built into the fabric of our society, and commit ourselves anew to lives of active anti-racism.  We the members of the SCE Cabinet:

• Demand justice for the brutal killings of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, and  many others
• Affirm the clear ethical truth that Black Lives Matter
• Condemn the scandalous appropriation of the Bible and church buildings by the President of the United States
• Protest the unconstitutional use and threat of military action against citizens of the United States engaged in lawful assembly
• Call on our leaders to embody by their actions and words a civil respect for all people
• Pray that our country may be safe for all, in particular for those who have lived in fear for too long because we have not attended to injustices against them.

Jennifer Herdt, President

Patricia Beattie Jung, Past President

James Keenan, President-Elect

Bryan Massingale, Vice President