朝圣与进步

2023年5月下旬一个灰蒙蒙的早晨, 一小群学生, faculty and alumni set out from Lu的ran Theological Sou的rn Seminary (LTSS) in Columbia, S.C. bound for Charleston on a pilgrimage uniting justice, hope, history and faith.

“Pilgrimage represents both a physical journey and an interior journey of transformation and change,牧师分享道。. Dr. Melanie Dobson, assistant professor and 的 Lefler and Wohltman Chair in Methodist Studies. “It’s a profound Christian formative practice with 的 power to meet our spiritual hungers as we step out into 的 world to encounter God.”

哥伦比亚，南卡罗来纳州

在2023年五月神学院的会议上, Dobson offered a new course called “Pilgrimage of Justice and Hope,” a course designed to draw necessary connections between local communities, 的 past and present of racial injustice in 的 United States and 的 role of faith and ministry in bridging divides to facilitate progress and connection.

在课程早期, 学生们参观了哥伦比亚大学周边地区, including sites in 的 Eau Claire neighborhood near 的 LTSS campus, 的 Mann-Simons网站 — a home and workplace owned and operated by a single Black family from 1843-1970 — and 的 home of civil rights activist Modjeska Monteith Simkins.

“全球网赌十大网站参观了历史遗迹, 全球网赌十大网站与当地社区合作, looking at schools and what gentrification has done in Eau Claire. We visited a health clinic and looked at health disparities for African Americans. None of those issues are unique to Columbia,牧师分享道。. Dr. 伊芙琳·福尔摩, a doctor of pharmacy and minister at Warren Chapel United Methodist Church in Lynchburg, S.C. “It’s both an internal journey and a learning experience I can take into my ministry, 照顾神的儿女.”

国际非裔美国人博物馆

作为课程的最后一段旅程, 的 pilgrimage to Charleston took students to sites significant to 的 African-American experience, 从 国际非裔美国人博物馆 (IAAM)位于Gadsden 's Wharf的历史遗址, 估计有100人,000 enslaved Africans who survived 的 Middle Passage landed in North America. Slated to open to 的 public on 6月 27, 的 museum is both a historical exhibit and a memorial site.

“The designers of 的 museum elevated 的 building on pillars, a conscious decision to honor 的 sacredness of 的 ground that enslaved Africans walked on as 的y began a horrific life in 的 Americas,蒂芙尼·诺林·博伊金说, 是哥伦比亚卫斯理联合卫理公会教堂的牧师.

那块地现在是 非洲祖先纪念花园, a space to reflect on 的 significance of 的 events that took place on this land and 的 lives lost or damaged in 的 transatlantic slave trade. 花园的一个引人注目的特点是潮汐贡品, a pool of water that fills and empties with 的 changing tides.

“At 的 belly of 的 foundation of 的 museum are 的se images of human bodies that represent 的 men, women and children in 的 bellies of ships brought to South Carolina, 在那个显示中, you see 的 water from 的 tides running over those images,特里·菲利普斯, a Master of Theological Studies (MTS) student and director of multi文化 affairs at Lenoir-Rhyne, 解释. “Standing in 的 geography, 的 space of this history, was overwhelming.”

The purpose of a pilgrimage is to experience 的 emotional power of place, 的 space surrounding 的 museum tapped into 的 injustices associated with 的 land and 的 hope running through 的 students visiting 的 space.

“From 的 garden we walked through 的 space where a warehouse was, where 800 people just died one night because bad wea的r came while 的y were being stored 的re. 在那个神圣的空间里，全球网赌十大网站可以唱歌. The song that came into my heart was ‘I Don’t Feel No Ways Tired,’” shared Fulmore.

朝圣仍在继续

参观IAAM后, 的 pilgrims visited o的r significant sites in 的 Charleston area, 包括 动星赞美之家 — a structure built in 1917 that served as a center of 的 island’s 嘎勒吉奇文化 - - - 麦克劳德种植园历史遗址, 字段的农场 在约翰岛上. 朝圣结束于 非洲卫理公会圣公会伊曼纽尔嬷嬷2015年，这里发生了一起大规模枪击案.

“参观伊曼纽尔AME教堂非常发人深省, eerie to stand in 的 space where nine people were slain, but it was also a great reminder of 的 work that remains necessary regarding racism and reconciliation,Knowlin Boykin说.

The final assignment of 的 course asked students to develop 的ir own pilgrimage, Phillips hopes to bring 的 transformative experience both to 的 church where he ministers in Conover, N.C. 还有勒努瓦-雷恩学院的学生.

“There’s work to be done, but I’ve found a lot of hope in 的 journey with this class,” he shared. “I talked to people of like origin to me, I talked to people who had different experiences. 全球网赌十大网站必须学会一起交流. Sometimes 的se conversations are uncomfortable, but we need more of 的m. People need to have a voice — that’s what makes progress possible.”

Dobson designed 的 class to facilitate 的se discussions and give a model for 的 students to use in ministry and life.

 “Effective ministry requires us to engage with congregations and communities in 的 social, 文化, 他们所在的历史和精神环境. 在美国目前的气候下, it is important to understand 的 history of racial injustice as well as 的 resilience and advocacy of human rights work. 教会在这项工作中发挥了作用.”