In a time like this in our country, I am glad Mt. Oak is a Multi-Racial Church. I know that I can get the straight scoop from sisters and brothers in the fellowship, red, yellow, black and white!
The stories in a previous post, A Multi-Racial Church for a Time Such as This, touch the heart. I may never know or experience what Alvin, Josef or others have felt. But after hearing and trying to understand more and more, what are the next steps? How do we continue the healing process? How do we continue to heal from this pain of the past, even as it is still with us in degrees today?
I believe in the historic significance of this election. How the glass ceiling has been shattered once again. I celebrate with those who have felt marginalized over the years. But what can I do as a pastor and friend in our church family to help the healing to continue for us all?
I believe we are all prejudice, all colors, all people. We are raised in a prejudice society. Race makes a difference. We may have filters. We may be better than generations past. But we all still have some of it in us, black and white alike.
Thoughts and comments?
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I think the comments that I saw after my own is the beginning of understanding in fact my heart smiled. Thank you for starting the conversation Pastor Ray.
Dialogue: Honest discussion of a serious topic with flexible minds without polarizing while maintaining civility.
For those who want to begin an understanding of the social construct of race in America I strongly recommend "Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria" by Beverly Daniel Tatum. It doesn't just talk about Black and White Americans but addresses race relations as a whole and ways to keep racism and prejudice out of one's sphere of influence.
I feel like the Martin Luther King Jr. Day worship celebration last year was a great event promoting understanding and unity, Pastor Ray. I think it will be especially interesting if it is continued in 2009 when you ask of us "What does The Dream mean to you?"
I wrote the following in a blog after I saw "Miracle at St. Anna":
Diversity is not in the skin color, but in the experiences which may or may not come from being of a certain race...
Never stop talking; never stop listening. Always try and start the conversation. It's worth it; it's really, really worth it.
Josef, you are so right about never stop listening and asking questions and starting conversations because you care about how others feel. And we also have to stop NOW all our negativity and preconceived notions about others. GOSSIP and nit picking about others also has to go NOW! I feel that is where we all have to start--not thinking about it but asking and educating ourselves about other people of all walks of life. Do not have opinions about someone without really understanding where they are coming from. Kaitlin is dating a wonderful young man-Hassan-and he is a very caring and sensitive and an ambitious young man. He is not a Christian--he is Muslim--I have been having some very interesting discussions with him and Kaitlin about the differences in our walks in faith. How do I know where these talks will lead?----I do not know and I am not going to be hung up on these discussions with an ulterior motive. I am truly interested in where this young man and his family are from and the experiences that they have had. Please open your minds and your hearts to others of ALL walks of life--whatever their faiths are or their color and background and anything else that you may have difficulty with--do not just search out people that are the same as you because this is not what we learn from God's Word--He wants us to be an accepting people as He is and give in to all your hesitations of going out of your bounds-you will reap true rewards if you TRULY follow the teachings of Our Lord and Savior! Lorie Lowery
We had a wonderful conversation Thursday night at Young Adults on this subject and the previous post on the same subject.
Almost all of the young adults in attendance had an opinion. It was a glorious discussion - some real heart warming thoughts.
Good discussion is always healthy!
I agree that talking is good, but better yet is listening. Sometimes talking turns into debate but many times that turns into a scenario where we agree that we disagree. We all will have our own opinion and will not agree. But at least we are listening. That is the problem with so many people. They don't want to listen.
Since my last post on this blog I have given much prayerful thought to this issue. Ray you ask the right question : “How can we better understand?”, since we will never truly understand what others have been through. It is beyond just a race issue it is the issue of getting along with those with backgrounds, experiences and belief that are not the same as ours.
Ray when you said you lived in Seat Pleasant, I thought wow! Ray lived in the hood :0). My feelings changed in knowing this, even though it may not have been the hood when you lived there haha. But seriously when we know of others experiences: I lost a child; I was raped; I had an abortion; I was abused by my father; I am adopted and others. Do we feel different about them, of course we do. Can we understand what they have been through, of course we can’t. Can we have compassion that they have been through something that we are glad not to have experienced? We need to understand that these experiences, and others not as profound, change the person they are. Our attitudes, likes and dislikes are formed in childhood and remain with us through adulthood.
I believe the key to us getting along is compassion for everyone, because every one of us has had experiences that others cannot understand. But we can better understand and have compassion.
I lived in "the hood", Seat Pleasant, on 69th Place and on Addison Road. My sister went to Maryland Park and Central. I went to John Baine and Key Junior High. I would have attended Central - we moved to Annapolis and I went to Bates and Annapolis High.
I share this to say that I have lived in changing communities. I have lived through racial unrest in Seat Pleasant and Annapolis. I do not understand all that you have lived through Alvin, but, I do not what hatred is and I don't like it.
I played ball on the streets when I was the only white guy out there and it didn't hit me to think anything of it. I was beaten by a group of black guys for being white yet didn't hate all black guys because of it. I was saved from another beating because a black friend stood up for me. I am not colorblind, but I try to examine the character of a man or women and not their skin color.
I want to understand, because understanding can help me be a better pastor to those who hurt. Does that help?
Ray man brother from the hood as well as brother in Christ, we all have a lot to learn about each other.
Correction
I do not understand all that you have lived through Alvin, but, I do know what hatred is and I don't like it.
interesting comments from a group who seems unwilling or at least hesitant (in previous blogs) to have an open mind regarding homosexuality. Race is only one of the many diversities of God's creation. I look forward to the day when we don't see color, or orientation, or disabilities, or limitations, or xyz (you fill it in) but another of God's creations who is to be loved because he or she is different.
"Honest discussion of a serious topic with flexible minds without polarizing while maintaining civility."
Great works Jkjosefm
To anonymous 10:33 - Race is not a sin, homosexual behavior is. They are not the same.
I must agree with anonymous 12:20 am. As a black man I am outraged that you (anonymous 10:33 pm) would compare the sinful behavior of homosexuality with race. I am appalled when people try to say that black people should support the homosexual movement. They are not the same!
Thanks Anon10:35,
But that is the definition according to the Common Ground program at the University of Maryland I couldn't take credit for it :-)
I appreciate this discussion. It is so easy to assume that our own experience is "the way it is" for everyone. Those who grow up without being on the receiving end of discrimination often assume discrimination is gone, while those who have been discriminated against may assume that everyone they meet will do the same. In hearing each others' stories we can expand our own understanding.
I lived for a time in Hawaii, where I could not find a job in my chosen field because I was a white military dependent. I was usually the only fair-skinned, blond-haired person on the bus. If I was on a commuter route, no one noticed (including me, most of the time). If I was on a tourist route, I was treated as a dumb outsider.
During our time there, the 100th anniversary of the end of the monarchy was recognized. Tensions were high, with a few Hawaiian activists actually saying at a rally that all white people should be killed. These were attitudes that were not usually spoken, but were obviously still taken to heart.
In some ways, I am thankful for these experiences, as they give me a tiny insight into what others have experienced so severely. I am very grateful to live now in a place that is so multi-cultural. My children generally do not see any difference between people with different colors of skin -- though for description's sake, they will sometimes say "my friend with brown skin". They don't know any other label, and I will grieve the day they learn some negative label from someone else.
Thank you to all who have shared on these two posts.
Molly Holloway
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