I'm happy to learn of your experience, Jim. As you probably know, the last five years of my ministry before retirement were in a multicultural church which claimed two dozen nationalities on any given Sunday morning. It can be - and was for me - a rich and eye-opening experience. I've never worked so hard to listen and attempt to understand. But it is hard work!
Pastor Doug, your powerful testimony was truly inspiring and filled with wisdom, reminding us all to reflect on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s legacy and to work together to keep his message and mission alive.
I’m a 1969 graduate of Wheaton College, and while I am grateful for the fine Christian education I received there, I too recall painfully how that WASPy culture barely acknowledged MLK or the larger challenges of civil rights. Now, a lifetime later I’m a member of a nearly all white UMC church near very white Hershey, Pa. Just a few miles away my home town and State Capitol, Harrisburg, recently experienced three homicides in a four day stretch. As you may recall from your stint there as our assistant pastor in the 70s, Harrisburg has a long troubled history of black poverty and crime in the shadows of its alabaster halls of power. It vexes me sorely that the body of Christ to which we ostensibly belong, still seems largely powerless to engage or even hear the cries of our black neighbors.
Hi David, I'm so pleased that you're a reader. And somehow I missed that you were a Wheaton College graduate - or more likely Wheaton wasn't on my radar at that point in my life. By the way, I was ordained in 1980! So, it was the early 80s when I was with you at Pine Street. I did not see the news about Hbg, but find it troubling. Looking back I wish we had done even more to reach our community, though Downtown Daily Bread was a remarkable first step. Still, there was more we could have done.
I visited Pine Street Church last night for a concert and got to visit with a bunch of old friends there. On my way there I passed by the Boyd Center where about two dozen or so homeless folks were huddled in the freezing cold with their bedrolls, bags, waiting for a nights shelter. They are still very actively engaged in social ministry, as are mine and many churches through Love, INC (In the Name of Christ), food banks, Bethesda Mission, and more.
Florine, what a treat to hear from you. I have such good memories of pleasant conversations. I hope you are doing well. If I can read between the lines, it looks as though you are back in France. I hope you are thriving there.
I'm happy to learn of your experience, Jim. As you probably know, the last five years of my ministry before retirement were in a multicultural church which claimed two dozen nationalities on any given Sunday morning. It can be - and was for me - a rich and eye-opening experience. I've never worked so hard to listen and attempt to understand. But it is hard work!
Pastor Doug, your powerful testimony was truly inspiring and filled with wisdom, reminding us all to reflect on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s legacy and to work together to keep his message and mission alive.
Never thought of the holiday that way. Thank you
What a good friend...the writer and his teacher.
I’m a 1969 graduate of Wheaton College, and while I am grateful for the fine Christian education I received there, I too recall painfully how that WASPy culture barely acknowledged MLK or the larger challenges of civil rights. Now, a lifetime later I’m a member of a nearly all white UMC church near very white Hershey, Pa. Just a few miles away my home town and State Capitol, Harrisburg, recently experienced three homicides in a four day stretch. As you may recall from your stint there as our assistant pastor in the 70s, Harrisburg has a long troubled history of black poverty and crime in the shadows of its alabaster halls of power. It vexes me sorely that the body of Christ to which we ostensibly belong, still seems largely powerless to engage or even hear the cries of our black neighbors.
Hi David, I'm so pleased that you're a reader. And somehow I missed that you were a Wheaton College graduate - or more likely Wheaton wasn't on my radar at that point in my life. By the way, I was ordained in 1980! So, it was the early 80s when I was with you at Pine Street. I did not see the news about Hbg, but find it troubling. Looking back I wish we had done even more to reach our community, though Downtown Daily Bread was a remarkable first step. Still, there was more we could have done.
I visited Pine Street Church last night for a concert and got to visit with a bunch of old friends there. On my way there I passed by the Boyd Center where about two dozen or so homeless folks were huddled in the freezing cold with their bedrolls, bags, waiting for a nights shelter. They are still very actively engaged in social ministry, as are mine and many churches through Love, INC (In the Name of Christ), food banks, Bethesda Mission, and more.
Florine, what a treat to hear from you. I have such good memories of pleasant conversations. I hope you are doing well. If I can read between the lines, it looks as though you are back in France. I hope you are thriving there.
Well said. I serve a racial-ethnic church as an interim and MLK day hits differently.