Creating Space For Conversation

I tell you this, that many Gentiles will come from all over the world—from east and west—and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob at the feast in the Kingdom of Heaven. - Matthew 8:11

Like much of the nation, Indianapolis was touched by the racial tension that came to a head again this summer. Though the section of the city we live in was not the site of the largest protests, we could see the underlying causes of the tension in comments made on various community forums. Our section of Indianapolis, marked-off by school district boundaries and the lines of the old county township, is 85% white. For as long as we have lived here, we have noticed that people of color are still treated with suspicion and, sometimes, outright racism by some members of the majority population. As we joined in a couple of small protests organized by young people, though, we saw that there were people that believed we needed to be a more welcoming community.

In light of this, we sensed from the Holy Spirit that it was time to take action in promoting more discussions about racial concerns in our community. We wanted to take small steps at first, instead of creating a large event, in order to allow people time to get to know one another and hear from one another. In light of concerns over COVD-19, we also knew we would be limited in gathering sizes for the sake of safety. With the help of a new friend of Liberian heritage, we launched a Facebook group for people in the township to begin to connect with one another and learn from one another. The hope as we proceed is to eventually create opportunities for people to meet face-to-face and hear one another's stories and experiences. For the people of color that have joined the group, it has been encouraging to learn that there are people in the community that want to learn from their experiences and work together to promote a more welcoming environment.

Though our primary focus in ministry still revolves around homelessness, these issues often are interconnected. Also, anything we can do to promote shalom in our community helps with advancing the Kingdom of God in our city. Pray for wisdom as we navigate these conversations with others in our community and that this would be a key point in promoting more racial reconciliation locally.