Waiting for spring in an important week in the Twin Cities Metro

The weather seems to reveal the spirits of people in the Twin Cities Metro right now. Our area hasn’t been blessed with a beautiful spring so far. We’ve had a few days of warmth and sunshine, but they’ve been overshadowed by a raw northwest wind, grey skies, and cool temperatures. Today the temperature might make it to 40 when the normal high is 59. 

The raw weather is illustrating the raw spirits of people in the Twin Cities Metro. It feels like the entire region is taking a deep breath and waiting to exhale until the jury for the Derek Chauvin trials renders a verdict.  Today final arguments in the case will be shared. I’m guessing the jury will be sequestered shortly afterwards. 

The National Guard has increased their presence in the Metro.  Thousands of armed Guard members are stationed on street corners throughout the Metro.  I haven’t driven in St. Paul or Minneapolis for over a week (though I would have no problem in driving there. I’m not afraid of spending significant time in either City) but some have been quoted in the Star Tribune comparing the streets in the Twin Cities to a military occupation in foreign countries.  I don’t feel qualified to say whether the presence of the Guard at these rates is justified, but there is no doubt that Governor Walz and leaders of Minneapolis are determined to prevent riots similar to what happened this past spring when more than 1,000 buildings and businesses were damaged.   

Amidst this trial we’re all still processing the horrible killing of Dante Wright last week.  Yet again an African American man was killed by a Caucasian police officer. Seven nights of protesting have followed in Brooklyn Center with some violence exhibited by the crowds and at times an aggressive response by Law Enforcement. 

It feels like the whole country and even world is watching the Twin Cities Metro right now. The air is heavy, and the weather does not feel like spring. 

After the sermon yesterday in worship at Chain of Lakes Church, I stepped out of the pulpit and prefaced a prayer by sharing that right now all of us need both/and thinking. All of us have opinions about the Chauvin trial, and the police, and the National Guard, and Black Lives Matter, and the killing of Dante Wright. But too often our thinking is either/or.  We set up these polarities that divide us even further.  This type of thinking leads us to think that if a person is for the police they don’t care that African Americans are being killed by the police at a disproportionate rate. Or that if a person is protesting on the streets against what happened to Dante Wright, then they don’t respect the police.  We are too quickly isolating others in the way we are thinking.  The result is separation and polarization. 

I encouraged everyone at Chain of Lakes to work very hard at finding unity with others this week in our views. Work hard at finding common ground with others; don’t assume that the views of people about the world make them an enemy; dig deep at finding something about which you can agree on when it comes to policing and the topic of race. 

I offered three statements in my short talk which prefaced my prayer that I believe almost all of us can agree.  They are:

·       George Floyd’s death should have never happened, and it reveals something is wrong in the world;

·       Dante Wright’s death should have never happened, and it reveals something is wrong in the world;

·       The protests that have happened in Brooklyn Center for eight nights in a row reveal something is wrong in the world. 

Do you agree with those three statements? 

Oh I get it—you have more opinions than those three. And for many those three statements seem so obvious that they might not even be worth putting on paper.  But I’m looking for a base line of common ground. Until a large enough group of people can find unity on what we agree on, we are not going to start making the changes that our community needs. And as long as we’re trapped into an either/or mindset about the world that diminishes people who have differing views, we’re going to be living a very cold winter.

 And most of all pray. I told our congregation yesterday that if they have chose to spend time praying, this is the week to pray. Spend a lot of time this week praying for our community. I’m personally praying for God’s peace and justice and wisdom to be revealed in the Chauvin verdict, the response to the verdict, and the response to the killing of Dante Wright. And I’m praying that the level of polarization can be diminished, so that we can find common ground on these vital issue. 

I’m waiting for spring.  I have faith that it will happen.  But it feels cold right now, and our community is on edge.