I appreciate Katie’s reflections on the year so far. It has been
heartening to journey with our Mission Committee, church staff, and most
importantly, so many from our congregation who have engaged in deepening our
understanding of the relationships Christ calls us to. In addition to the
listening and reflecting that Katie highlighted, we have continued to serve in
so many ways.
·Participation in
Community MLK event
·Expanding relationships
with Henderson Towers residents
·Building a Habitat house
·Hosting homeless
families through Interfaith Hospitality Network
·Raising $4500 during the
Durham CROP Walk
·Food donations and
volunteering at Urban Ministries
·Support for summer youth
mission activities
I look forward to listening, learning and growing with our congregation and
within our community. I’m grateful for the opportunity to be a part of
something that feels so important. Thanks to all of you who’ve helped
nurture this environment where Christ’s messages of love and giving are coming
to life.
The Listening theme began in January with the goal to
discern more about our remarkable neighbors in Durham by taking time to hear
about the hopes, dreams, pain, and joy in our community.
We’ve hosted several Dinner and Discussions this year. If
you missed these, scroll through this blog to find video links and commentary.
At our first Dinner and Discussion, we heard generally about
what it means to actively listen, and our own Stephen Ministers and members shared how often
people just need someone to be present with them. Listening doesn’t mean fixing
all of someone’s problems, but it can mean joining in a journey together that
brings healing.
At the second Dinner, we listened to news from Urban
Ministries about folks in our community who are hungry, and how we can help address
hunger in Durham. We heard stories about the people who are turned away at
night when there are not enough beds for all in need.
At the next Dinner and Discussion, we listened to Sam Wells
and Marcia Owen talk about being present in Durham for those who have suffered
due to violence in our own community, and the power of listening to our neighbors,
and being present with them when loved ones have been killed.
Our Good Neighbor team has listened to neighbors in Durham
close to Duke Memorial: Neighbors at Henderson Towers and in the West End
Neighborhood. Around Easter-time, Reynolds shared a story about inviting a
family in the West End Neighborhood to our Easter service. We heard hope in the
way the invitation was received and we heard gladness from those neighbors that
our church would welcome them inside our doors. My sense is that we have more
to learn from these neighbors in our surrounding areas.
So far this year, I would say that our listening has taught
us about the power of being present. Neighbors in our larger community, as well
as members of our own congregation, both long for connection with other people
and time for fellowship together.
I hope you will look into your own heart and join us in
listening this year. We would love to hear your ideas about ways to respond to
what we are learning about our neighbors, and we hope we’ll have a wonderful
turnout at the next Dinner and Discussion on June 4th 6-8 PM when we
listen with open hearts to news about Housing and Homelessness in Durham. You
can RSVP here. Thank you for all the ways you continue to join the mission here
at Duke Memorial.
This spring our small groups read Living Without Enemies: Being Present in the Midst of Violence by Sam Wells and Marcia Owen. This book accompanied our mission theme of "Who is My Neighbor? Listening, Learning and Living with Our City" because it casts a vision for mission that prioritizes Christ-like presence, humility, and listening. At the end of our small group season, we were able to have Sam and Marcia join us for a dinner and discussion to share about their book and their stories. Below is a video of the event and some highlights.
Here are a few quotes from Sam:
The working for model: "You become extremely good at doing something, and you spend the rest of your life doing good for people.That's the way mission in the mainline church in America is generally done...the problem is that it's a flawed model. If you're on the receiving end, the working for model reinforces your humiliation."
The working with model: "Ideally the homeless person comes for the first time to Urban Ministries looking for a meal, but before long they find themselves behind the counter helping to cook the meal, and then they're empowered to actually design the menu, and then after five years or so, somebody's worked their way up through that process and they end up running Urban Ministries."
Being with: "Being with also involves spending time with others like working with, but it's not leading with your skills....And you don't come assuming that you're going to be the agent of change...in fact you don't approach the person assuming they basically need to change....You come because you enjoy, simply, being with them."
Being for: "The emblem of being for is the blogger. The blogger is the person who knows everything, tells everyone they use the wrong vocabulary about this, tells everybody that the last movie they went to see was incredibly wrong because they saw it from the wrong point of view, has absolutely the right attitude about every form of social disadvantage, never engages with anyone who is actually experiencing social disadvantage themselves, just tells everyone else that they're wrong."
"When I read the New Testament, it said, 'If you want to find Jesus, go to be with the poor...' It never occurred to me that I was spending time with the poor to solve their problems. I was spending time with the poor to solve my problems."
And some quotes from Marcia:
"I started gathering with a group of clergy...to try to figure out, to discern - probably what you all are doing - what is God calling us to do in response to this suffering?"
"Something very, very profound shifted when I would sit in the living room with mothers and brothers and sisters and cousins and fathers and uncles. And there was nothing I could do except share my faith. And that faith is just a humble, "I am here to let you know that your son or your daughter who was so violently and tragically taken from us is my sister and my brother too."
"No matter what happens to me, no matter what insane silliness, or mistakes I make, always God is present in my life. There seems to be nothing I can do to stop that."
"Violence...is the most extreme manifestation of our forgetting who we are as children and creations of God."
"One of the most astounding features of love is that it's immeasurable. So why would you start measuring?"
I'm attaching the video of Roger's sermon from Easter Sunday. If you weren't in worship, watch it! If you were there, it is a great sermon to watch again and meditate on throughout the Easter season. I think that the message gets at the heart of what Easter means for our participation on God's mission.
A few questions to reflect on in response:
Roger says, "Maybe we have turned faith into an escape. But not Jesus." In what ways have you turned faith into an escape? How might our faith in Jesus lead us to be more present in the midst of suffering?
Roger quotes Dietrich Bonhoeffer: "One who believes does not run." This was Bonhoeffer's reasoning for staying in Germany during the height of the Nazi rule, which eventually led to his death. When we refuse to "run," how does that show our belief in Jesus?
Roger shares that what we call the "real world" is not the way things are supposed to be. Jesus has shown us the way things are supposed to be (i.e., the real real world) by entering into brokenness and death, and trusting God to raise him. In what ways can we be "agents of the real world" in Durham?
What a special opportunity we had Tuesday night to have Lee Nelson from Urban Ministries as our guest for dinner and discussion. I thought it might be a downer, talking about poverty and hunger. Instead, I came away feeling pretty snappy. It was a pleasure to listen to Lee (I think the guy’s a hero and a rock star!), learn from his experience, and share thoughts about an issue that concerns many of us. Perhaps some of the following made it such a positive experience:
·I loved Lee’s stories. They were full of humility, compassion and meaning.
·Sid Allen and friends made it easy for the rest of us to enjoy.
·Lee gave our congregation props for our enduring commitment to Urban Ministries through food donations, volunteering in the food pantry, and the meals served by our youth in the Community Café.
·There was a good group of folks…diverse group. Fuller (the young one) asked some of the best questions of the night.
·Hunger is a big problem, but there are a lot of ways we can make a difference toward sustaining and comforting people who are having a difficult time.
·Everyone was really engaged with Lee and in their table discussions. They also seemed to appreciate the chance to eat, visit and just spend time together.
·Jenny’s dinner was wonderful.
·Sometimes when I consider an issue alone I feel helpless, but when approached with others, it becomes empowering and encouraging.
I’m grateful that so many folks showed up and shared their interest, concern and faith beliefs surrounding the issue of hunger in our community. Many of these same folks will participate in the Crop Walk this weekend. I look forward to continuing to synthesize our collective concern, energy and resources toward understanding our community and finding ways to be a meaningful part of it.
