Groaning: Sounds in Search of a Witness

by Warner M. Bailey

Publisher:

Cascade Books

, 2023

When a Minneapolis police officer murdered George Floyd, that cop seared on to the American consciousness a lasting symbol of the injustices that communities of color have submitted to since slavery. Many people used the word "groaning" to describe their response to this murder. This book seeks a better understanding of this visceral reaction, and its pastoral importance. In Lamentations 1, groaning plays a pivotal role, and a witness to groaning is indispensable to relief. Groans are sounds in search of such a witness. This points up the silence of God as witness, crystalized in the symbol of the anti-shepherd. The book ends with the stark, impending reality of baleful, divine rejection. Yet, God does not intend for silence to be the final result. This book probes several openings to a cruciform model in which groaning is contextualized and transformed. Lamentations functions creatively in canonical relationship with Second Isaiah, the Gospel narrative of Jesus, and Paul's description of the Spirit's intercessory work. A range of Black religious thinkers--Cone, Evans, Glaude, Copeland--are analyzed for insights into addressing groaning. Finally, the indispensability of a witness challenges communities of faith to serve as witnesses to persons who struggle to flourish even as they carry their scars.

Praise for Groaning

“Warner Bailey listens attentively and compassionately to the wordless cries from people’s souls after atrocities such as George Floyd’s murder. How does a pastor respond to ‘groans too deep for words,’ especially within a system of white supremacy that destroys life? With theological rigor and in dialogue with black theologians, Bailey discerns in these groans faith and meaning that open to hope. His vision calls pastors to become wounded witnesses as well as wounded healers.”

—Karl J. Van Harn, director of pastoral services and clinical pastoral education, Pine Rest Christian Mental Health Services



“In wrestling with multiple traumas experienced by black people over centuries of life in America, Bailey exposes the value of witnesses who respond to the cry generated by excruciating pain and persistent sorrow. Bailey does not pretend to have final answers, but, faithful to his Christian commitments, promotes a view of God’s presence in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus that can sustain life-affirming and life-transforming hope.”

—Michael Miller, executive vice president and dean, Brite Divinity School

Product Details

• Title: Groaning: Sounds in Search of a Witness
• Author: Warner M. Bailey
• Publisher: Cascade Books
• Print Publication Date: 2023
• Logos Release Date: 2023
• Language: English
• Resources: 1
• Format: Digital › Ebook
• ISBNs: 9781666797589, 9781666797572, 9781666737752, 1666797588, 166679757X, 1666737755
• Resource ID: LLS:9781666797589
• Resource Type: Monograph
• Metadata Last Updated: 2023-03-15T22:35:25Z

About Warner M. Bailey

A Presbyterian Minister of Word and Sacrament since 1964, Warner’s career has combined the roles of pastor and scholar in his leadership of outstanding congregations in Indiana and Texas through significant transformation. At regional and denominational levels, he has served his church in areas of peacemaking, fund-raising, education, mission, and judicial affairs. He has been a commissioner to two national General Assemblies where he chaired committees on the Brief Statement of Faith (1989) and Bills and Overtures (2003). Within the Fort Worth community Warner has been president of the board of the Parenting Center and founding president of an AIDS funding agency. He served on the board of the Presbyterian Night Shelter, United Way, and Planned Parenthood of North Texas. He is a member of Leadership Fort Worth. As a scholar his area of continuing interest is the reception of biblical interpretations that challenge conventional ideas. He has contributed articles to the Journal of Presbyterian History, and his essays have appeared internationally in a Festschrift and a centennial collection. He continues his research and writing in the Book of Psalms and 1 and 2 Samuel. Warner maintains an active life in retirement with his involvement at Brite Divinity School, Texas Christian University as Director of Presbyterian Studies and Adjunct Faculty member and as a member of the Steering Committee for Building a Brite Future. He is a Parish Associate at St. Stephen Presbyterian Church where he serves as Theologian-in-Residence. He accepts invitations for preaching and teaching. He and his wife, Mary, have two children.