Energizing and Equipping Local Churches
in Making Disciples of Jesus Christ for the Transformation of the World
Black History Month
February is Black History Month, an opportunity for congregations to revisit our nation’s journey in the civil rights movement and to teach about African-American history.
A group of 66 high school students took such a life-changing journey Jan. 15-18 as part of the Central Texas Conference’s Civil Rights Road Trip to trace key events and sites of the civil rights movement in the United States.
Their journey into this important part of our nation’s history began with the slave movement in the 1600s, captured at the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis, Tenn., where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated, and at Little Rock Central High School in Arkansas where black children struggled for an equal education in privileged white world. Over the next couple days, the Central Texas Conference youth experienced key episodes of the American civil and human rights movement and the legacy of this movement to participation in civil and human rights efforts globally.
They stopped at Birmingham Southern College, a school that started a century and a half ago by Methodist reformers and now houses a collection of civil rights memorabilia; Sixteenth St. Baptist Church, site of the Sept. 15, 1963 racially motivated terrorist attack by KKK members and that results in the death of four black children; the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute; and the National Voting Rights Museum in Selma, Ala.
Students Respond
“There were a lot of whites who died in the movement,” wrote one surprised student in response to her experience on the civil rights trip. In considering how the trip has changed her view of community she said: “Things can change — it may not be easy, may not be quick, but there is in me, and those who would see the possibilities, the motivation to be transformed so that we can transform.
“It means loving the person and not getting hung up on the packaging,” she said. “It means seeing the importance of another’s existence … seeing the humanity and diversity in others.”
“God has shown me how easy it is to get out of your comfort zone,” said another student, who added, “I saw Him in all the people I got to know outside my normal comfort zone.” And another student felt empowered to go home and “Step up and stop negative racial comments and help spread the word.”
One student, after visiting Sixteenth St. Baptist Church where children died in the racial-triggered bombing, said “Racism is still in our community today.” Another came to realize that “Everyone matters, because they are the children of God.” And another wrote: “I saw the horror that mankind caused, and I saw God working in the people who saw that it was wrong and changed it.”
“Gaining understanding of others is the first step to acceptance — acceptance through knowledge instead of fear of the unknown,” wrote another student. “Being part of a silent majority is not God’s plan. We are called to act justly, be kind and walk humble with God,” said another quoting from a sermon at Sixteenth St. Baptist Church.
Summing up what some of the others were trying to say, another student wrote: “To feel compassion is great, to act on it is better.” And another who said, “I learned that it is impossible to live in God unless you love all your neighbors, no matter what,” also felt empowered to “Try as hard as I can in all the ways I can to change things for the better.”
Local Church Opportunities
Closer to home, several churches in the Central Texas Conference are hosting programs and offering worship events that inspire us to benefit from stepping outside the usual. All are open to the public.
Meadowbrook UMC, Fort Worth
At Meadowbrook United Methodist Church (3900 Meadowbrook Drive, Fort Worth 76103) the congregation will celebrate Black History Month and Lent with a lineup of top preachers Feb. 14-17. Associate pastor Rev. Kyland Dobbins draws on his own African American worship traditions to expose the Meadowbrook congregation and others to another culture.
“With this being our second year of intentionally celebrating African American/black culture in a predominately white church, our hope is to begin to foster sensitivity and appreciation for each cultural contribution to Christian worship,” Rev. Dobbins said.
“Meadowbrook has a unique opportunity to be a leader in our conference by embracing and celebrating the multiple cultures of our community in an effort to reflect the kingdom of heaven on earth,” he said. He and Rev. Jim Chandler, senior pastor, believe that “becoming a multicultural congregation is not only a means of continuing as a faith community, but is our hope as we spread the gospel of Jesus Christ locally and globally.”
All are invited to join in the following worship experiences:
Sunday, Feb. 14 — Rev. Kyland Dobbins will bring the message at 10:50 a.m. worship and the Meadowbrook choir will bring the anthem.
Monday, Feb. 15 — Dr. Sylvester Key will bring the message at 6:30 p.m., music by the McMillan UMC choir.
Tuesday Feb. 16 — Rev. Beverly Gilliam will bring the message at 6:30 p.m., music by the Morningside UMC choir.
Ash Wednesday, Feb. 17 — Rev. Carol Gibson will bring the message at 6:30 p.m., music by the St. Andrews UMC choir.
The members of Trinity United Methodist Church extend an open invitation for their “Racism from a White Person’s Perspective” program on Feb. 21.
The United Methodist Church recognizes racism as a sin and affirms the value of all human beings. We recognize the gifts that racial and cultural differences add to our collective living. However, those of us who understand ourselves as white often are unaware of the benefits others do not experience that are available to us simply because of the color of our skin.
Dr. Nancy Ramsay will explore the issue of white privilege, our unwitting complicity in racism and strategies in resisting racism for people of faith. Join Trinity UMC (3321 W. Park Row, Arlington) for this enlightening social justice discussion from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 21, in Room 201-203. Parking on the east and south sides of the main building. Contact: Miriam Georg at miriam@trinityumcarlington.org.
St. Luke UMC, Dallas
History and human struggle are lessons learned at St. Luke United Methodist Church in Dallas just by looking out the window. Click on a video story (http://archives.umc.org/interior.asp?ptid=1&mid=7503) to see how these lessons shine through the 53 stained-glass windows at St. Luke.
The General Board of Discipleship offers a number of resources for local churches and other ministry groups that wish to highlight Black History Month:
http://www.gbod.org/worship/default.asp?act=reader&item_id=10400&loc_id=9,32,54,1133
http://www.gbod.org/worship/worship/articles.asp?loc_id=9,32,54,1133&act=nav_loc
http://www.gbod.org/worship/default.asp?act=reader&item_id=3983&loc_id=9,32,54