In a little over two weeks, 21 of us will leave for Montgomery, Alabama to embark on a Civil Rights tour. We’ll leave Minneapolis, and over seven days we will visit Ebenezer Baptist, the church home of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and the King Museum in Atlanta. We’ll spend a day at the Legacy Museum in Montgomery and another in the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute. We will stand on the Edmund Pettus Bridge, now often referred to as the John R. Lewis Bridge, a prominent place in the history of Civil Rights. For some added fun, we’ll visit the World of Coca-Cola, cheer on the Montgomery Biscuits at a baseball game, and savor the flavors of some great southern cuisine.
Micah 6:8 will guide our conversations as we travel. We will ponder, wonder, and explore what it means to “do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with God.” In the spirit of Jesus, we will go as disciples to imagine and practice what it means to share the good news. Together, fifteen students and six adults will watch for the places where God is at work and where community’s people are living as disciples with compassion and care for all.
Our gospel this week, from Matthew, sets a beautiful stage for what this trip is all about. Jesus gathered the disciples and sent them to proclaim the good news, for the kingdom had come near. Throughout our time together in Alabama and Georgia, we will consider and process how we become disciples, listening to the stories of history, and proclaiming that God was, is, and will always be at work in the world.
The trip begins on June 26 and ends on July 2. Keep us in your prayers and watch our social media pages for videos and pictures of our great adventure.
See you in church,
Pastor Stephanie