Reflection
Bridge Builder BY OGECHI AKALEGBERE
Servant of God, Sister Thea Bowman inspires me greatly. She was a peacemaker; throughout her work she was relational and intentionally reached across barriers to build bridges. I see much of who I am and who I want to be as an organizer in her. Sister Thea had passion for unity and cross-cultural understanding; it was the backbone of her ministry. She was adamant about the need Left: Akalegbere, her sister Nneka, and Judy Walser at a county election pre-primary action at a local for different races and cultures to synagogue (Courtesy of Ogechi Akalegbere). Right: Akalegbere as a panelist at “Prophetic Communities.” be relational and to listen to one another’s experiences. She lived out someone from AIM shared about what diverse and significantly wealthier than the gospel call to love your neighbor with would be the Maryland DREAM Act. mine. She has nothing to gain physically the understanding that we need to know Throughout his presentation, I learned from organizing, but I have seen the our neighbor deeply: not just those within that my peers, immigrants like me, were light of Christ in her love of solidarity our parishes but everyone we encounter. disproportionately affected by the cost and care for others. Over the years, I From a young age, I understood that of college tuition simply because of their have cherished our intergenerational injustices were the causes of despair and immigration status. Once again, the friendship. I consider her a fellow bridge unrest around me. Things as they were world as it was did not match the world builder and co-conspirator for justice. didn’t match up with things as God wanted as it should be. As any true justice worker does, Judy them to be. Growing up in one of the most I remember being angry and acknowledges who is missing and loves to diverse cities in the country exposed disappointed in myself that I had done use her known privilege to enhance our me to many different people, but it also all this service but never understood the organizing efforts. further highlighted the inequity in my plight of people with whom I walked As Sr. Thea Bowman stated, “I think community. As an immigrant and child the halls, people who shared my same when we love one another, when we of immigrants, I learned pretty quickly immigrant identity. That anger and fire become friends, then we can walk hand that being welcome and being welcomed eventually pointed me toward organizing in hand into the house of the Lord and were two different things. For some, that in college. Years after college, I went celebrate. But to me, to pray together invitation came with conditions. to my first AIM meeting, and the rest is when our hearts are not one, when My parish, St. Rose of Lima, provided history. The common thread in all of this we’re not at least trying to bridge the me with many opportunities to live out was my parish, which gave me the ability gaps, is sacrilege.” my justice-minded heart in direct service to put my faith into practice and allowed As organizers, our work is most with communities and service in the me to provide a sense of power, hope, and effective if we are bridge builders. We church. It led me to believe that I and accountability to and for my community. build bridges between the inequitable my family could practice stewardship no Now, many years later, I am honored world as it is to a more justice-focused matter our income, and it allowed me to to organize alongside parents, teens, reality where those who are ignored give my time and talents to the parish and and community leaders. Although we in the margins are leaders and have surrounding community. In this work, I might have different faiths, I believe neighbors who are willing to walk in found a love of relationality that has stuck my encounters with these leaders have solidarity with them. with me for many years. been nothing short of sacramental. In My parish was one of the founding deep relational encounters, the Holy Ogechi Akalegbere is a youth and young congregations of Action in Montgomery Spirit is present. adult minister, community organizer, and (AIM), a community power organization One encounter I hold dear is a meeting speaker based in Gaithersburg, Maryland. in Montgomery County, Maryland. One with Judy Walser. Judy and I come from Outside of ministry, she enjoys personal Sunday, during the announcements, different backgrounds. Her parish is less training and lifting weights. A M AT T E R O F S P I R IT
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