Last week I shared 5 Ways to Create a Moral Tomorrow. That list includes general issues that impact our entire nation. This week, I focus on local issues. What issue(s) within your own local community demand(s) attention?
Finding Your Ferguson
The Rev. Starsky Wilson has become widely known as the result of his tireless work in and around Ferguson. He served as co-chair of the Ferguson Commission and is one of three incorporators for a nonprofit called Forward Through Ferguson. Additionally, he is the pastor of Saint John’s Church (The Beloved Community) and serves as the president and CEO of Deaconess Foundation.
Wilson is also a student at Duke Divinity School working toward a Doctor of Ministry degree. While on campus in that role, Faith & Leadership interviewed him about his work. In that interview, Wilson challenged faith leaders to ” find ways to integrate themes of race into their local conversations and their contexts.” He also challenged all people to know and engage in their respective communities by finding their own Ferguson, recognizing that in “any metropolitan area and you’ll find all of the elements that become the powder keg,”
So What?
People of faith are people of action. Those who follow the Way of Jesus are focused on making real God’s realm on earth as it already is in heaven. This work requires getting involved in changing our local communities for the better and in so doing to remember, in the words of Wilson, that “the place of the church is always on the side of people with the least power.”
- Have you identified your own Ferguson?
- What are you doing to make a difference? What is your faith community doing?