Over the course of the past week I have been impressed but not surprised by the amount of attention Martin Luther King’s birthday has received this year (officially celebrated this past Monday, January 19th). I’m not surprised by the attention of pastors and religious leaders, who generally speaking do a great job of raising our awareness each January in Sunday morning worship. I’m not even surprised by the amount of attention that has been given the movie SELMA, which is (I’m told) an artistic interpretation of this iconic figure and the events of his remarkable life and death.
The timing of the movie’s release couldn’t have been better to help raise awareness of both the historical context of MLK birthday weekend as well as the ongoing struggle for justice that remains in this country for black Americans. I have not even been surprised by the amount of social media conversation about both Pastor King and the movie – the current cultural atmosphere begs for this issue to be given the attention it deserves by all of us. I will be surprised if these issues and the consciousness-raising of the events of the fall of 2014 do not motivate us here in the Rhode Island Conference United Church of Christ to consider how we can have Sacred Conversations about Race together. I confess that I have yet to see SELMA, but it is high on my “must see” list. I hope that many of you will see the movie.
A wonderful guide to leading discussions on the movie Selma may be downloaded. It will assist with discussions both within our churches and our families. It is available at: http://dunktankmarketing.com/selmaguide/
Blessings to all
The timing of the movie’s release couldn’t have been better to help raise awareness of both the historical context of MLK birthday weekend as well as the ongoing struggle for justice that remains in this country for black Americans. I have not even been surprised by the amount of social media conversation about both Pastor King and the movie – the current cultural atmosphere begs for this issue to be given the attention it deserves by all of us. I will be surprised if these issues and the consciousness-raising of the events of the fall of 2014 do not motivate us here in the Rhode Island Conference United Church of Christ to consider how we can have Sacred Conversations about Race together. I confess that I have yet to see SELMA, but it is high on my “must see” list. I hope that many of you will see the movie.
A wonderful guide to leading discussions on the movie Selma may be downloaded. It will assist with discussions both within our churches and our families. It is available at: http://dunktankmarketing.com/selmaguide/
Blessings to all
