SatJun232007
Today’s blog entry is comprised of team members' reflections on a significant image or moment from the past week. These reflections provide a collection of mental pictures and insights for readers about a journey comprised of so many profound moments. I hope as you read them, you will contemplate the history and current state of race relations, ask a team member more about his/her experience, and consider taking the journey yourself next year.
Lucy Mikes
A very significant moment for me was standing in front of the balcony where Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was killed. There was part of a passage from Genesis 37:19-20 engraved on a stone there:
“They said one to another,
Behold, here cometh the dreamer…
Let us slay him…
And we shall see what will become of his dream.”
It struck me as so appropriate, so fitting for him. The passage refers to Joseph. His brothers thought their actions would end his vision, but look what happened. The story of Joseph tells us you don’t kill God’s plans. You don’t kill a dream.
John Vandenbrouke
An image that is burned into my mind is one from the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis. The image is that of two young black men that were hung for no other reason than being black! If that was not sickening enough, a crowd had gathered and were smiling and pointing at those poor souls. That is pure Hatred! God has called us to be one as the Body of Christ. We as the Church must move towards that end, and it starts with each individual. Then and only then will we be the Living Body of Christ that we are called to be.
Kirk Dillard
Two of the many stirring events of the spiritual Justice Journey are most deeply imbedded in my heart, mind and soul. First, walking arm and arm—singing “Ain’t gonna let nobody turn me around”—and walking over the Edmund Pettus bridge in Selma, Alabama. Secondly, our service in the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham was truly praying on sacred ground. As the parent of two young daughters, I could not stop thinking about the four beautiful girls murdered by a bomb planted by a racist monster. I cry and ache just recalling the emotion as I write this on a bus in rural Arkansas.
Rhea Escudero
The most profound moment for me was in the slavery museum. I was in the dark hearing moans and cries. I could feel the fear and pain of the enslaved Africans. When I say feel, I mean it was a physical experience. After, the Lord showed me that this pain continues today within the African American community. He also showed me my culpability in perpetuating that pain by just not looking at what has been in front of me. I have been convicted and cannot “live life” as usual after this experience.
Beth Rhanda,
In the Visitor’s Center there was a black sign with a single word on it declaring in bold red font: vision. It was simple, yes, but sometimes in simplicity our most profound statements are made. This image, to me, represented clear and unadulterated vision. It stood out to me because vision development is what I do. On my leadership team for InterVarsity Christian Fellowship at school, that is what we do. We develop vision for where we want our chapter to go with its outreach on campus. Sometimes our vision to see great change and the spread of the Gospel gets clouded by our preconceptions, secret agendas, or personal vendettas. To develop a multiethnic body of Christ, people of all backgrounds need to come together to create a collective vision. This will only be done through the grace and wisdom coming from our Lord. My hope is that the Lord will give us all a bold vision that leads to clear action and great social change. “And, in my heart, I do believe, we shall overcome some day.”
Phil Carlson
During our visit to the National Civil Rights Museum, which presents a thorough history of the Civil Rights movement from slavery to the death of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., I felt deep sorrow at the scope of injustice against African Americans. I don’t think any of us thought they were in denial when they started on this journey, but now we know we were.
Dan Shannon
Until this moment, I did not comprehend the deepest level of the pain that the victims of racism experienced; the moment was when an African American father recounted how he had to tell his 7-year-old daughter that she couldn’t eat a sandwich at a counter because she is black. The pain is that much more excrutiating because it is being done to someone for whom we would give our life. I imagined what that would be like if I had to do the same to my 7-year-old daughter.
Janelle Davis
There are so many vivid images in my head from our journey this week—from men and women being kidnapped and herded onto ships to be sold into slavery, to the monuments of the dogs and water hoses that were unleashed on children in the protest marches, to the face of Jesus being blown out of the stained glass window where the bombing at the 16th Street Baptist Church killed 4 little girls who were at church on Youth Sunday for Sunday School. But there are two images from that church that stand out more. In the memorial area, there is a photo of Martin Luther King in the Memphis March. His expression in this particular shot reveals deeply all of the grief and pain and discouragement and frustration and even despair that could be felt at times during the Civil Rights movement. It was as if we could see into his soul. It reminded me of Jesus weeping over Jerusalem before going to the cross and made me think about how grieved God is when He sees the terrible things that we are capable of doing to each other. And the second image was a stained glass window donated by the people of Wales in support for the congregation and representing African American torment after the church bombing. It was of a black Jesus on the cross. It reminded me of the song “Some Children See Him” talking about how some children see Jesus, as they are themselves “yet full of love and grace.” It gave me hope for a world (and for heaven) where we all understand that God is beyond gender and race and that we are all created in His image and are truly brothers and sisters in Christ in “beloved community.”
Jan Holmes
A significant moment was taking communion together at the 16th Street Baptist Church. We had just heard a message from Dr. John Perkins exhorting us to pursue reconciliation and the ideal of the church no longer divided, but one body. The communion service was led by Reverend Dearal Jordan from Salem Baptist Church. There is no truer expression of our bond than sharing the body and blood of Christ.