Before things got started I ventured out to the Martin Luther King Center with a woman who teaches at Oxford and oversees the study abroad program there. It was a treat to share the MLK Center experience with a non-North American. As we walked the grounds together I realized how little I know about the civil rights movement. Having not grown up in the south I really have no idea what our country overcame (or continues to overcome) with regards to racial and economic discrimination.
I was surprised most by the presentation of state laws in place only 60 years ago. They were absurd and sent chills down my spine. My how close the language was to things I read in Kigali, Auschwitz and Phnom Pehn. I'd like to think we Americans are different. We aren't and we have the history to prove it. Again I find myself asking how is it that humanity acts as if we are better than another? How is it that we rally our own kind together to diminish a different kind(as if they really are a different kind)?
My British counterpart shared that as she read the story and heard the videos in the museum that she was feeling a bit boastful knowing that her country didn't share this specific history. Yet then she came upon the story of MKL going to India to learn from Gandhi's non-violent resistance against the British. She was reminded of her own country's oppressive history. My how connected our stories are--the American and British story of civil rights.
At the opening ceremony this evening I must admit I was a bit bummed. My great hope of hearing from Desmond Tutu was dashed. Oh, we did hear from him. He was "here" but he was "here" in the form of a pre-recorded message. (Someone is laughing in Idaho!)
After the message from Desmond Tutu we heard from Richard Stearns, the president of World Vision. Stearns had some great questions and insights to share with us. And what I share below is some of what he spoke about and mostly my response to what I heard.
Stearns spoke as a man who knows the struggle and suffering around the world. He's wrestled with his own Christian vocation in light of his engagement with the "real world", a real hurting world. I especially noted his concern that Christian Universities are creating a comfortable climate for our students.
"Hey, we've talked about this at NNU."
He challenged us to craft a different kind of worldview on our campuses; a worldview that calls us to be aware and active with the needs of the poor.
I wonder with him, "What if students engaged in the real, real-world?"
He mentioned how unfortunate it is that Christian Colleges are so predominately Caucasian. This seems to cry in the face of our collective mission, doesn't it?
I ask, "How can a bunch of Caucasian folks really speak well about changing the world?" He pointed out that "changing the world" (or some form like it) is in most Christian college mission statements. We so desperately need other voices at the table!! If we don't, and we really do want to change the world, then aren't we just perpetuating past failures of imposing on others what is not ours to impose upon them?
Stearns challenged the group to think about ourselves and our institutions as agents of reconciliation and peacemaking. This challenge came out several times during the evening.
My questions are: What might it look like for a University to be an ambassador in our communities and world of reconciliation? And, how does an institution even enter into this kind of work and continue to be a sustainable institution?
More tomorrow.
1 comment:
Great thoughts and insights! Sounds like you are learning a lot!
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