RESISTENCE, NONVIOLENCE AND COMMUNITY

For those interested in how to engage in the practice of resistance and nonviolence, my chapter "Martin Luther King, Jr.: Resistance, Nonviolence and Community" might be of interest. It's published in this volume, "Black Leaders and Ideologies in the South: Resistance and Nonviolence" (Routledge), edited by Dr. Preston King and Dr. Walter Earl Fluker. 

Across the Divides: Dimensions of Difference and Implications for Theological Field Educators in the 21at Century

Rev. C. Anthony Hunt, D.Min., Ph.D.

(This essay was first delivered as the plenary lectures for the 34^th Biennial Consultation of the Association for Theological Field Education, January 2017, St. Paul, Minnesota.)

Section One –

Dimensions and Dynamics of Diversity in the 21^st Century

            In a world wrought with social, economic, political and religious upheaval – and with division endemic across much of society and much of the religious spectrum today, many people are asking the question, “Where is God?”  Many students who come to theological schools today come asking the very same question, “Where is God?”  Many students come today with more questions about the location of God in religion and society than they do with answers about who God is, and where God may be located.

And it is a part of the work of theological field educators to help students locate God so that they can then effectively lead people in the church and the world in the broader quest to locate God.  

Over the past several years, in the United States and across the globe, we have become more divided along various lines.  In the U.S., the social and political division that we now experience is not really new, but it challenges our sense of normalcy in ways that perhaps we have not been challenged in the past. 

This division exists against the backdrop of a burgeoning diversity here and in other parts of the world.  I had the opportunity to address a group of scholars in South Bend, Indiana two years ago where those in attendance were mostly North American, but interestingly the group included persons who were nearly equally Christian, Muslim and Jewish – and nearly equally white, black, Hispanic and Asian.  I sense that this type of interreligious, intercultural engagement was not unique to that setting, but in some circles, is being challenged and brought into question in light of the overarching concern of what it means to be “American” today.   

A part of this nation’s sense of who it says it is is etched in one of our national credos – the Latin phrase e-pluribus unum – “Out of Many One.”  The implication here is that in the U.S, we have been, and continue to be, many.  We are many cultures and ethnicities, many classes and social locations, many religions, many geographies, female and male, with many persuasions and ways of identifying what it means to be human.  And yet, the vision that we say we share within the context of this “many” is a vision of somehow also being, becoming one. 

In any event, today we experience the challenge of living into this grand vision of realizing what it means to become e pluribus unum.  Perhaps it is “Divides” which most clearly define us today, both in society and within religious communities.  These Divides are seen in that we are Brown, White, Black, Asian and Indigenous, LBGTQI and ‘straight”, poor, working class, middle class and wealthy, Republican, Democrat and Independent, south and north, west and east, rural, suburban and urban, conservative, moderate, and liberal, evangelical and progressive, non-denominational and mainline.  These “Divides” are seen in that – politically and religiously - we are red, blue and indeed purple (yes purple). 

TEN WAYS TO BUILD BELOVED COMMUNITY

                                                                                                                         
          

                                                

Here is a link to my article - "Ten Ways to Build Beloved Community", published in Leading Ideas, by the Lewis Center for Church Leadership.

TEN WAYS TO BUILD BELOVED COMMUNITY

THE SHOCK ABSORBER

(This sermon was preached on New Years, January 1, 2017 at Epworth Chapel, Baltimore) 

I lift up my eyes to the mountains— where does my help come from?   My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth. He will not let your foot slip— he who watches over you will not slumber; indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.  The Lord watches over you— the Lord is your shade at your right hand; the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night.  The Lord will keep you from all harm— he will watch over your life; the Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.  (Ps. 121:1-8)

          By almost all accounts, 2016 was a difficult year for many people.  Many persons experienced loss of loved ones, others sickness in their own bodies or the sickness of those whom they loved or cared for.  Some experienced separation and divorce from those whom they had had loved.  Others experienced job transition. 
         When we look back over 2016, the mantra of the age-only hymn is very true and very real for many of us –

“Time is filled with swift transition,
Naught of earth unmoved can stand,
Build your hopes on things eternal,
Hold to God’s unchanging hand.

          Indeed, if 2016 taught us anything, it taught us that we need to hold ever more tightly – ever more firmly and assuredly to God’s unchanging hand.
          If we are to travel through the annals of time as it is recorded in Scripture, we will discover that we are not the first people to experience years where in many ways  there have seemed to be more downs than ups, more wrongs than rights, more sadness and joy. 
         As we make our way to Psalm 121, we find that David is singing out of his own pain.  He and the people of God who followed him had gone through some difficult times just as many of us have.  

THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD

This sermon was preached on Christmas, at Epworth Chapel, Baltimore on 12/25/16.

“The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned…  For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders.”  (Isaiah 9:2, 6)

If I can be transparent for a few minutes this morning, I must confess that Christmas for me this year is rather bittersweet.  I’m certain that I’m not alone in experiencing a sense of joy coupled with pain, sunshine and rain, light and darkness. 
Christmas, for me has always been time of sheer joy, a time when even as an adult, the inner child in me has been awakened - and hope, and joy, and love and the promise of peace on earth is renewed and animated for me.

            I know I’m not alone.  This year is unlike any other.  The time from last Christmas to this one seems like an eternity, and has been wrought with difficulty.  We have seen our share of disappointment, despair, disillusionment, discouragement, dimness, and dismal distress. 

We are living through one of the most difficult political seasons in our nation’s history – people are deeply divided along race, class, inter-religious and even intra-religious lines.  This is to say that Christians can’t even agree on what it means to be a Christian.
         Murder continues to plague many of our cities like Baltimore where over 310 persons will have lost their lives by the end of this year.  Too many people are living out in the streets, too many people are hungry and too many people remain without adequate healthcare.  Around the world, there are wars and rumors of wars – and it seems like there’s another terrorist attack somewhere in the world every time we turn on the news.
        So Christmas for me – and I sense for many of us – is more bittersweet this year than ever.  And yet, we as people who walk by faith live marked by a promise that in every season of darkness there will come forth light. 

TEN WAYS TO STRENGTHEN CHURCH, COMMUNITY, POLICE RELATIONS

C. Anthony Hunt, D.Min., Ph.D.  

One of the keys to a church’s vitality is the quality of the relationships that it establishes with leaders and institutions across a broad spectrum of the community in which it resides.  One of the most important relationships that the church can work toward developing is with police and other public safety officials.  Given recent well-publicized police-involved shootings along with the shootings of a number of police officers around the nation, resulting in challenges with police/community relations - working proactively on strengthening church/community/police relations serves to engender trust and  focus on shared community concerns and commitments for public safety in proactive, rather than reactive ways. 

It is a part of the theological task of churches to “seek the welfare” (shalom, peace, well-being) of all people in their respective communities. (Jeremiah 29:7)  Individuals, churches, groups, organizations, institutions and even governments can continue to seek to promote the well-being of communities by making a sincere commitment to strengthening church/community/police relations. 

Here are ten ways that individuals, churches, and other organizations can work toward strengthening these relations.

1.  Pray for the police serving your community.

2.  Pray for, and publically affirm, the police (and other public safety officials) who are members of your congregation. 

3.  Schedule regular meetings with community police officers to establish/strengthen relationships.

4.  Participate in periodic drive-arounds and community walks with police and community leaders.

5.  Invite police to community events held in the church (e.g. back-to-school events, community meals, food giveaways).

6.  Include police assigned to the church and community on lists for newsletters and email blasts.

7.  Seek to collaborate with community entities like the NAACP, Chamber of Commerce, community associations and churches in the community across denominations and faith traditions in addressing common interests/concerns regarding policing and public safety.

8.  Invite community police to speak to youth and young adults in the church.

9.  Educate youth (and adults) on appropriate conduct if/when stopped by police.

10.  Assist police departments in the recruitment of qualified persons in the congregation and community who would serve well as uniformed police officers (especially women and minorities).

© C. Anthony Hunt, Ph.D., 2016

TEN WAYS TO BUILD THE BELOVED COMMUNITY

C. Anthony Hunt, D.Min., Ph.D.

One of the strivings of all humanity is for us to become authentic community.  Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was among those who framed the conception of community in what he termed the Beloved Community.  King asserted that “all life is interrelated.”  This interrelatedness was rooted, for King, in the fundamental belief in the kinship of all persons.  He believed that all life is part of a single process; all persons are sisters and brothers, and that we all have a place in the Beloved Community.  Because all of us are interrelated, one cannot harm another without harming oneself. 

King also intimated that “everyone could be great because everyone could serve.”  In the uncertain times that we find ourselves in as churches and society, as United Methodists, the General Rule of Discipleship continue to point us to the importance of engaging in acts of compassion and justice as means of living out our faith and loving our neighbors.  Making a sincere commitment to community-building and social engagement to serve the causes of promoting peace with justice is how individuals, churches, groups, organizations, institutions and even governments can act to continue to perpetuate the pursuit of Dr. King’s vision of the Beloved Community.

Here are ten ways that individuals, churches and other organizations can enact with the goal of promoting peace with justice. 

1. Support and develop community-wide plans aimed at expanding economic opportunities for racial-ethnic persons and women specifically in the areas of housing, banking and employment practices.

2. Actively participate in programs that reach out to help those in the most need – the hungry, the homeless and the unemployed.

3. Adopt an inner-city or rural school. Offer your skills where appropriate. Do your part to assure that every inner city and rural young person can look forward to an adequate education.

4. Encourage schools, colleges and universities in your community to include Dr. King’s (and other freedom fighter's) teachings in their curricula and programs.

5. Take specific actions to deal with the problems of drugs, alcohol dependency, teenage pregnancy, and family violence in your community.

6. Become an advocate - and encourage church, political and community leaders to advocate - for the removal of all weapons from our streets, homes and schools.

7. Support causes that promote freedom, justice and peace abroad. Help extend human rights, dignity, health and economic well-being to all persons.

8. Take a stand, and encourage persons in your church and community to actively oppose those groups that promote hatred and violence. Actively and vigilantly oppose racism, homophobia and other forms of xenophobia in our communities.

9. Sponsor and participate in programs that encourage interracial, intercultural and inter-religious goodwill and unity.

10. Read the Social Principles of The United Methodist Church (or another denomination/faith group) and strive to make them an integral part of the faith and life of yourself, your church and community.

© C. Anthony Hunt, Ph.D., 2016