Christian Community Development Association
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The hearts of our staff at Mission Year were heavy on our weekly prayer call. It was the morning after the grand jury decision in Ferguson and there was a lot of disappointment, pain, and anger. Many of us were struggling with words to say and prayers to pray. Instead of listing a litany of prayer …
Continue Reading about Lamentation for Ferguson or Healing in the Aftermath of Ferguson →
The red, white and blue lights flashed in the mirror and the familiar sting of fear crawled through my stomach. “Not today,” I thought. “Please, don’t let it be today.” The lady riding in the passenger seat of my vehicle whispered to me, “Just stay calm.” Her short, curly, gray hair had been …
No Indictment. The announcement broke the suspense, if not the tension. 108 days after Michael Brown was killed by Darren Wilson, St. Louis Prosecutor Bob McCulloch announced that the grand jury had determined that there was no probable cause to indict Officer Wilson in the August 8th death on …
Continue Reading about No Indictment is Outrageous, Even if Wilson is Innocent →
As I thought and prayed about Ferguson today I found myself at a loss for words – but yet so many thoughts, hard to contain. I do not know how to express them all. Yet – as a pastor, I do not want to be silent upon these matters. I do not want my church to be silent upon these matters. For my faith …
Continue Reading about Reflections on Ferguson in Poem Form →
I returned a phone call to a friend recently who proceeded to tearfully share her burden for a young man who had been incarcerated and recently released. This young African American man returned to society with a strong desire to change his life. Yet even with the help of my passionate and …
Continue Reading about Immigration, Ferguson, and the Importance of our Lens →
I am created in the image of God. I am a follower of Jesus. I am an American citizen. I am the daughter of an immigrant. These are markers of my identity and my perspective has been shaped by these strong realities. For years, I have been learning about immigration as an issue and have also been …
Continue Reading about A Kingdom Response to President Obama’s Speech on Immigration →
I met the mother of Emmett Till in 1995 when she visited our church in Chicago—Mamie Till traveled unceremoniously with a group of children from her neighborhood. She never ceased talking about the tragic murder of her son Emmett in Money, Miss., in 1955. As a young mother, she courageously used the …
Continue Reading about Emmett Till, Michael Brown—and hope →
Reflecting on the past 12 years that I’ve been involved at a national level in trying to change our broken immigration system, I have often felt alone. I vividly remember many instances when I called or visited prominent pastors to discuss my concerns about our current immigration policy, only to be …
Continue Reading about Visiting 1600 Pennsylvania Ave: A great cloud of witnesses →
