On Saturday, November 9, 109 registered participants took part in a Community Unity Dinner at the Refectory at United Lutheran Seminary sponsored by Pathways to Racial Justice, a coalition of church and community organizations dedicated to raising ”awareness about racial injustice while focusing on developing solutions and fostering community collaboration for positive change.” The featured speaker for the evening was Rev. Carla S. Christopher, Assistant to the Bishop in Charge of Justice Ministries for the Lower Susquehanna and Delaware-Maryland Synods of the ELCA.
Before dinner, participants were welcomed by Dr. Bettye F. Baker, an organizer of the event, and Rev. Dr. Guy Erwin, the President of the United Lutheran Seminary. An invocation followed by Rev. Dr. Martin Otto-Zimman, and then participants were led in some singing along with the choir from United Universalists of Gettysburg under the direction of Joanne Nicholson
After dinner, Rev. Christopher was introduced by Angela Sontheimer, another of the event’s organizers. Rev. Christopher opened her remarks with a poem that imagined her audience as “ancestors in training” carrying the seed of a tree of wisdom “we may not live to see though others will sit under it one day.” Then, she offered a song “helping to create this place as sacred ground.” And then she began to share a bit of her own story.
In twenty years living in Central Pa, she said, she has been surprised by the importance of “love in this space.” She confessed to now working at her current job “like a PA Dutch farmer” and then went on to comment that she has “abandoned the speech she planned to write on Monday” and would now offer something brand new.
She was born to an Orthodox Jewish mother and a Black jazz musician. In the Jewish tradition in which she was raised, love is not separable (or meaningful) without justice, she said. We need to react and act when we can to address the suffering of others. “There is not one of us who can do nothing.” What we do, however, might be as simple as accompanying an immigrant to a super market for a first experience of shopping.
Growing up she was often taken care of by Episcopalian women, the “ones who showed up” who in turn introduced her to the Christian tradition, but the “that pesky thing of realizing I wasn’t straight” came up, creating a “serious glitch” in her relationship to the Christian church of that time and place. As it turned out, she initially found a home with Pagans, with those practicing an Earth-based spirituality and learned a lot from the Buddhist tradition through Thich Nhat Hanh and others.
But what really matters tonight, she continued, is that each of us identify our own purpose at this moment in time. She said our purpose is to be found where three concerns, best imagined as concentric circles, overlap. First, our skill set. What are we good at? What do we love to do? Secondly, what are the needs of the community at this time? What needs to be done to move our community and nation forward? Thirdly, what resources are available to support this progress. The key is to see where the three rings align. And then, she said, “deeper down that path is where our own growth comes.”
This journey is also always journey of “reconnection to our neighbor” who may think differently about many things. What’s central is “the ability to hold multiple truths in mind and recognize the value of many stories” to a full understanding of what’s going on in the world.
At this point, Reverend Carla expressed gratitude for the fact that the United Lutheran Seminary had made space for this “unhoused, angry, queer, Black girl.” A Pride sticker on the bulletin board and a space set aside for honoring the Black Lives Matter movement had hinted that the Seminary might be just the place for her. But Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs often go astray, she said. The data show that 90% of DEI trainings are ineffective. Personal relationships are what really matter, and they are 90% effective in changing the attitudes of those involved.
As she moved toward concluding he talk, she emphasized the importance of self-care. The struggle, she said, is for the long haul. If we are stressed, worn out, angry and/or exhausted, we can’t really be effective. These challenges “are not new, but they are addressable through community action.” She encouraged the audience to “turn away from fear mongering” to connection with others and then presented yet another way of thinking about our current situation, SWOT analysis.
S stands for Strength. What are we good at? What are our skills? What do we have to offer. W stands for Weakness. What’s missing? What do we need to know in order to be effective? O connects with Opportunities. Looking around what resources, organizations, and potential allies are available but going untapped? Finally, F stands for Fear, both the fear that rises in us when we step out to take a stand but also the fear in others when they see us as challenging their comfort and/or privileges.
In conclusion, Reverend Carla commented that “great things are happening all over Adams County” but often people are not aware of what others are doing. What’s needed, she said, is a “space for shared dialogue.” We can do what’s needed, she said, but we can’t do it alone. Unity dinners will continue, she said, and will attempt to provide a place for that kind of community dialogue. In the meantime, she urged audience members to reflect on a question and to share an answer with others at their table. What is your next, best step toward the fulfillment of your purpose (as describe above), she asked?
A discussion followed with many audience members describing steps they hoped to take in the near future. As the evening ended, organizers thanked the audience for attending and promised more Community Unity Dinners in the near future.
Will Lane, a founding member of Green Gettysburg and the Green Gettysburg Book Club, is a Lecturer in English and Affiliated Faculty Member with Environmental Studies at Gettysburg College.
Will, thank you for this hopeful story. You make me wish I had been there. Reverend Carla’s empathy and ability to bring people togethet are sorely needed now. I hope she will come again and that I can attend the next Community Dinner.
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