Reflections: Be the Bridge

September 2020

Over the past few months, I participated in a book study on racial reconciliation with a number of young adults from across the state. The silver lining of the pandemic allowed us to host our sessions via Zoom and therefore include people who otherwise would likely never be in the same room together. This allowed for more diversity of thought (and race) than we would have ordinarily had in our usual HPCUMC Young Adult studies. As we got going, the group immediately created a “brave space” for self-reflection, verbal processing, and discussion. We wasted no time diving into the hard hitting questions. Right after intros we headed straight into describing our ethnic culture – what we love about it and what we would change. This question stumped me, as a white person I never really thought about what my “culture” is, it just “is”. I thought my culture was the same as my other American peers with maybe slight variations based on any family history or immigration. This was just the beginning of recurring examples of “no I have never had to consider that before” due to my white privilege. I shared with the group in the first week that the reason I joined the study was because when I first received the initial invitation email I clicked away. I thought, “that would probably be uncomfortable, and I won’t know all the answers”. This made me immediately go back and sign up. I decided that I can’t turn away from uncomfortable scenarios anymore. I also have to be okay not knowing everything; as a type A/ enneagram 1/ oldest child, this is difficult for me. I cannot overstate how impactful it is to be part of a group of people who is so willing to hear you out and not worry about having all of the “right answers”. We were all simply there to push ourselves to have conversations we wouldn’t normally have to grow in our own self awareness.

Something that continued to surprise me is the realization that the Church (with a capital C) can quickly be either the biggest helping hand or passively stand by when things get tough. Fear and pride get in the way of us taking our own steps forward in educating ourselves, or attempting to understand the perspective of someone else. As church goers we become very comfortable in our bubble with the same people who look like us every week. I’ve found that the Methodist Church has taken many steps to be more inclusive, but those things don’t just happen organically. Jesus sought out people who were different, he didn’t wait for them to come to him. If this study taught me anything, it’s that there is no more time to just sit around, we need to act.

My favorite band Casting Crowns has a song called “Start Right Here” that I think does a great job of capturing some of these issues of the heart that the Church is facing (some of the lyrics are below). As Christians, we want to continue to help others, but sometimes this is only when it is convenient or there may be a side benefit for us. We give an offering but are not willing to walk in someone else’s shoes. We need to be the ones setting the example by truly loving our neighbor. Hearing this song over the weekend had an even bigger impact on me after reflecting on all of these learnings.

Kelsey Crookes

Reflections Be the Bridge

“We want our blessings in our pockets We keep our missions overseas But for the hurting in our cities Would we even cross the street? But we wanna see the heart set free and the tyrants kneel

The walls fall down and our land be healed But church if we want to see a change in the world out there It’s got to start right here It’s got to start right now What if the church on Sunday Was still the church on Monday too What if we came down from our towers And walked a mile in someone’s shoes” This study on reconciliation pushed me: to further enhance my own education, to start consuming different media, to not only increase my own awareness of issues, but find ways to talk about it more. I hope you choose to say yes to an opportunity to push yourself out of your comfort zone. Find ways to expand the bubble that you inhibit. Join a study where you may not know everyone in it. Read, watch, or listen to something that may be from a different perspective or life experience than yours. Just reading one book doesn’t mean we’ve checked the box and the problem is solved. My journey, as well as that of many of my peers, is just beginning. My eyes are more open than they have ever been and I hope you consider ways to expand your own way of thinking for the betterment of all God’s children.

CREATIVE REFLECTIONS for Be the Bridge Study Eric Bodge

During our “Be the Bridge” study we were asked to “Create something – a simple drawing, a poem, an essay, a painting, a mosaic, a sculpture, a song, or whatever else comes to mind – that reflects how God is working in your heart through this study.” I immediately began to think how I am likely the least creative person in our group. I knew that there was no way that I could do almost anything from that list well, and was trying to think what would make sense for me to do. At first joking, I thought to myself, as an accountant, how can I relate this to accounting, which is such a big part of my life. A major theme of our study was “racial reconciliations” and “account reconciliations” are an important part of accounting. In accounting you take two different sources of data that don’t agree and add/remove items that are the disconnect to bring the sources in to balance, so that they reconcile. This is an exercise that should be completed regularly, often monthly. The longer you go without reconciling, the further out of balance you can become and the more difficult it becomes to reconcile. I then started to think, how can I reconcile where I currently stand with racial relations to where I should be? How do I make sure

that I am intentional about reconciling where I am with where I should be. Because I know, if I’m not intentional that I risk growing further out of balance. If I wait too long to act, it will become harder to reconcile. So I started to ask myself, what do I need to add/remove? If I want to move from where I am to where to I want/ need to be, I need to: • Add education • Add awareness • Add diversity in to my conversations and daily experiences • Add a willingness to make honest mistakes and to learn from those mistakes • Remove making assumptions based off of only a headline or past experiences • Remove the instinct to talk first and listen second • And so much more

Reconciling is not a one-time act. It is a constant exercise. But you have to start, you have to take that first step. Otherwise the thought of reconciling can become intimidating. The more I thought about it, the more I realized, I was no longer joking. Even though creativity is far from being a strength, God was working through my heart by helping me take something extremely important and helping to understand and express myself through something that was a strength. Poem (inspired by Hamilton) written by Kelsey Crookes History has its eyes on you. Those in your circle of influence have their eyes on you. How will you use that influence? How will you make the world better and leave it better than how you came into it? You have no control over the level of privilege you start off with or where you stand in the rank of society. What you do have control over is your own actions. What do you do with your inherent privilege? How do you choose to treat others? Those who can realize these distinctions are the ones who better the world?

“We need to be the ones setting the example by truly loving our neighbor.” Kelsey Crookes

Reflections Be the Bridge

You have no control who lives, who dies, who tells your story. And maybe it’s not just your story, but the story of your family, your community, your culture. You also don’t get to decide who writes our collective story as a human race. If you’re fortunate enough to have a chance to hold that pen, how will you write history?

*no title – by Kate Warren Make me brave Can You make me brave? I can learn and read and pray I can talk and I can listen I can be still- but can I be brave?

When You call me out, will I come? Will I leave the shore to join You in the waves?

I learn and read and pray I talk and I listen- I am still

and now I say yes I will step off the shore, toes in wet sand as the tide pulls me closer to You I find I am brave

RJ Wright

Ode To The Forgotten Kid In The Back Of The Class – by RJ Wright, co-leader of the Be the Bridge Study Abstract minded What do you feel As you stare paralyzing out the window Fear? Anxiety?

You’re in this room by yourself No one looks like you You grip your pencil tightly Anger? Rage?

The teacher poses a question Your attention averted A smirk makes an appearance on your face Happy? Excited?

Do you know the answer?

You were wrong And you retracted back into your shell Tears started to form Sad? Embarrassed?

What’s going on In that enigma of a mind, to which I can’t relate You’re here, but you’re not present Isolated? I should leave you alone