PC(USA) Week of Action to feature Twitter chat
by Darla Carter | Presbyterian News Service
LOUISVILLE — Deep thinkers with a penchant for expressing themselves in 280 characters or less have a golden opportunity next week to participate in a Twitter chat being hosted by the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) for the Aug. 24-30 Week of Action.
The hour-long event begins at noon Eastern Time on Wednesday, Aug. 26, on the PC(USA) Twitter account and will challenge the public to answer questions about such topics as racism, white fragility, reparations, micro-aggressions and how racism intersects with faith and faith traditions.
“The purpose of the chat is to facilitate conversation and inspire action to eradicate white supremacy and dismantle institutionalized racism,” said Dee Decker, social media strategist for the Presbyterian Mission Agency. “Twitter is a perfect social media platform to engage in discussion and conversation in a way that embraces and engages a large number of people.”
The chat is one of about a dozen events being held as part of the Week of Action, a racial justice effort affirming that Black lives matter and that no one should be marginalized because of their race, ethnicity, gender, gender identity or sexuality.
“The week of action is structured to provide public witness that facilitates education, visibility and action that reinforces our PC(USA) statements and policy around acknowledging that God loves all Black lives,” Decker said. “We hope the Twitter chat provides a forum for meaningful conversation about what it means to participate in fighting the ongoing oppression of Black lives and how to be an agent of justice, love and equality within the denomination and community.”
To participate, go to www.twitter.com/Presbyterian on the day of the event and follow the hashtag #WeekofActionPCUSA. There will be approximately eight questions posed during the discussion, which will be moderated by representatives of various agencies and committees of PC(USA). Answers should be tagged to match the question (A1, A2, etc.).
The event will be followed by Liberation Bible Study discussions taking place at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. Eastern Time on the PC(USA) Facebook page as part of the Week of Action.
“We use social media at PC(USA) to invite discussion and raise awareness about our mission and ministry,” Decker said. “We hope that social media will inspire, inform and challenge folks to think beyond the confines of their churches and communities. As social media continues to grow, we are attracting diverse users with many different viewpoints.”
For more information about the Week of Action, including a schedule of events and how to get involved, go to www.pcusa.org/weekofaction. The site also includes a Black Lives Matter Q&A, downloadable yard signs in English, Spanish and Korean, and various images for sharing on social media.
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