May 15, 2023
Perhaps, one journeyed on the PILGRIMAGE out of curiosity, a duty to seek one's past, a need to be more inclusive. The GOOD NEWS is that God brought together a cohesive group - varied backgrounds and experiences - ready to question, explore, share, AND have some fun exchanges along the way. When we know better - We do better!!!
The impact of viewing the Middle Passage is always gut-wrenching and a searing reminder of the painful beginning and a future that still eludes us as a People. God's continued favor supports my faith.......YET 'still we rise.'
Holding on to God's Unchanging Hand,
Dora Jackson, member, Rock of Ages LC, Stone Mountain, GA
Recently 53 members and friends of the Southeast Synod went on a civil rights pilgrimage. We started at the King Center in Atlanta and traveled to Montgomery, Selma, and Birmingham, Alabama. It was a haunting trip that reminded us that we’ve come a long way in the civil and human rights struggle for all of God’s children, but we have a long way to go.
The road toward civil and human rights for all God’s children is paved with bigotry and lynchings and racial injustice. Too many of God’s children were murdered along the way. And we must learn
FROM history so that we don’t REPEAT history.
But thanks to Dr. King and many others, we too, are free at last to join hands with all our sisters and brothers and continue the struggle. We are free at last…
…to see every human being as a loved and cherished child of God
…to work and witness and pray for civil rights and racial justice for all
…to teach our children and grandchildren to treat all people with the dignity
and respect they deserve
…to speak out and fight against all forms of racism, bigotry, and injustice
…to join with the Holy Spirit in building a world where we care for all people
the way God has cared for us
…to realize that none of us can fully experience the abundant life that God offers
until all of us have that opportunity
May all of us do everything we can to work for justice and equality in the world. Because then, and only then, will we be truly be free at last.
Pastor Dave Helfrich, Interim Pastor, St. John's LC, Atlanta, GA
The impact of viewing the Middle Passage is always gut-wrenching and a searing reminder of the painful beginning and a future that still eludes us as a People. God's continued favor supports my faith.......YET 'still we rise.'
Holding on to God's Unchanging Hand,
Dora Jackson, member, Rock of Ages LC, Stone Mountain, GA
Recently 53 members and friends of the Southeast Synod went on a civil rights pilgrimage. We started at the King Center in Atlanta and traveled to Montgomery, Selma, and Birmingham, Alabama. It was a haunting trip that reminded us that we’ve come a long way in the civil and human rights struggle for all of God’s children, but we have a long way to go.
The road toward civil and human rights for all God’s children is paved with bigotry and lynchings and racial injustice. Too many of God’s children were murdered along the way. And we must learn
FROM history so that we don’t REPEAT history.
But thanks to Dr. King and many others, we too, are free at last to join hands with all our sisters and brothers and continue the struggle. We are free at last…
…to see every human being as a loved and cherished child of God
…to work and witness and pray for civil rights and racial justice for all
…to teach our children and grandchildren to treat all people with the dignity
and respect they deserve
…to speak out and fight against all forms of racism, bigotry, and injustice
…to join with the Holy Spirit in building a world where we care for all people
the way God has cared for us
…to realize that none of us can fully experience the abundant life that God offers
until all of us have that opportunity
May all of us do everything we can to work for justice and equality in the world. Because then, and only then, will we be truly be free at last.
Pastor Dave Helfrich, Interim Pastor, St. John's LC, Atlanta, GA