MLK Day of Service

On the West Side of Buffalo I can see hints of Dr. King's dream.  Looking around the neighborhood you'll find white families that have been here since European immigrants built the neighborhood; African-Americans that have populated the area since the days of the Underground Railroad (W. Ferry St. led down to the ferry to freedom across the Niagara River to Canada); Hispanics that flooded into the neighborhood during the final decades of the 20th century; refugees from the war-torn conflict areas of the last decade (Iraq, Somalia, Congo, Rwanda, Burma).  Whether all these groups will really look past their differences and truly judge each other by the content of their character, still remains to be seen.  But there is tremendous opportunity for racial reconciliation to take place here, and that's why it so exciting to be moving our family into this place!  Dr. King's dream for his children is still the same dream we have for our children today.

How fitting then, that we began our work on what will become our house, on the weekend we celebrate Dr. King's birthday.  With AmeriCorps, West Side Ministries, and their volunteers we worked Saturday and Monday demolishing the bathrooms, ripping up flooring to expose hardwoods that will be refinished, and we even started some of the electric wiring.  Below are some shots of crew in action, including a short video of our progress...

The clean-up crew

The ladies exposing those beautiful hardwoods!

Demo in the kitchen and bathrooms

The kids having some winter fun in the backyard

Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

"So the question is not whether we will be extremists, but what kind of extremists we will be. Will we be extremists for hate or for love? Will we be extremists for the preservation of injustice or for the extension of justice? In that dramatic scene on Calvary's hill three men were crucified. We must never forget that all three were crucified for the same crime--the crime of extremism. Two were extremists for immorality, and thus fell below their environment. The other, Jesus Christ, was an extremist for love, truth and goodness, and thereby rose above his environment. Perhaps [upstate NY], the nation and the world are in dire need of creative extremists.

I had hoped that the white moderate would see this need. Perhaps I was too optimistic; perhaps I expected too much. I suppose I should have realized that few members of the oppressor race can understand the deep groans and passionate yearnings of the oppressed race, and still fewer have the vision to see that injustice must be rooted out by strong, persistent and determined action. I am thankful, however, that some of our white brothers in [upstate NY] have grasped the meaning of this social revolution and committed themselves to it. They are still all too few in quantity, but they are big in quality... Unlike so many of their moderate brothers and sisters, they have recognized the urgency of the moment and sensed the need for powerful "action" antidotes to combat the disease of segregation. Let me take note of my other major disappointment. I have been so greatly disappointed with the white church and its leadership. Of course, there are some notable exceptions...

But despite these notable exceptions, I must honestly reiterate that I have been disappointed with the church. I do not say this as one of those negative critics who can always find something wrong with the church. I say this as a minister of the gospel, who loves the church; who was nurtured in its bosom; who has been sustained by its spiritual blessings and who will remain true to it as long as the cord of life shall lengthen.

When I was suddenly catapulted into the leadership of [a ministry] in [Syracuse], a few years ago, I felt we would be supported by the white church. I felt that the white ministers, priests and rabbis of [Syracuse] would be among our strongest allies. Instead, some have been outright opponents, refusing to understand the freedom movement and misrepresenting its leaders; all too many others have been more cautious than courageous and have remained silent behind the anesthetizing security of stained glass windows.

In spite of my shattered dreams, I came to [Syracuse] with the hope that the white religious leadership of this community would see the justice of our cause and, with deep moral concern, would serve as the channel through which our just grievances could reach the power structure. I had hoped that each of you would understand. But again I have been disappointed.

I have heard numerous southern religious leaders admonish their worshipers to comply with a desegregation decision because it is the law, but I have longed to hear white ministers declare: "Follow this decree because integration is morally right and because the Negro is your brother." In the midst of blatant injustices inflicted upon the Negro, I have watched white churchmen stand on the sideline and mouth pious irrelevancies and sanctimonious trivialities. In the midst of a mighty struggle to rid our nation of racial and economic injustice, I have heard many ministers say: "Those are social issues, with which the gospel has no real concern." And I have watched many churches commit themselves to a completely other worldly religion which makes a strange, un-Biblical distinction between body and soul, between the sacred and the secular...

In deep disappointment I have wept over the laxity of the church. But be assured that my tears have been tears of love. There can be no deep disappointment where there is not deep love. Yes, I love the church. How could I do otherwise? I am in the rather unique position of being the son, the grandson and the great grandson of [ministers]. Yes, I see the church as the body of Christ. But, oh! How we have blemished and scarred that body through social neglect and through fear of being nonconformists.

There was a time when the church was very powerful--in the time when the early Christians rejoiced at being deemed worthy to suffer for what they believed. In those days the church was not merely a thermometer that recorded the ideas and principles of popular opinion; it was a thermostat that transformed the mores of society. Whenever the early Christians entered a town, the people in power became disturbed and immediately sought to convict the Christians for being "disturbers of the peace" and "outside agitators."' But the Christians pressed on, in the conviction that they were "a colony of heaven," called to obey God rather than man. Small in number, they were big in commitment. They were too God-intoxicated to be "astronomically intimidated." By their effort and example they brought an end to such ancient evils as infanticide and gladiatorial contests. Things are different now. So often the contemporary church is a weak, ineffectual voice with an uncertain sound. So often it is an archdefender of the status quo. Far from being disturbed by the presence of the church, the power structure of the average community is consoled by the church's silent--and often even vocal--sanction of things as they are.

But the judgment of God is upon the church as never before. If today's church does not recapture the sacrificial spirit of the early church, it will lose its authenticity, forfeit the loyalty of millions, and be dismissed as an irrelevant social club with no meaning for the [current] century. Every day I meet young people whose disappointment with the church has turned into outright disgust.

Perhaps I have once again been too optimistic. Is organized religion too inextricably bound to the status quo to save our nation and the world? Perhaps I must turn my faith to the inner spiritual church, the church within the church, as the true ekklesia and the hope of the world. But again I am thankful to God that some noble souls from the ranks of organized religion have broken loose from the paralyzing chains of conformity and joined us as active partners in the struggle for freedom. They have left their secure congregations and walked the streets of [Syracuse] with us... Some have been dismissed from their churches, have lost the support of their bishops and fellow ministers. But they have acted in the faith that right defeated is stronger than evil triumphant. Their witness has been the spiritual salt that has preserved the true meaning of the gospel in these troubled times. They have carved a tunnel of hope through the dark mountain of disappointment. I hope the church as a whole will meet the challenge of this decisive hour. But even if the church does not come to the aid of justice, I have no despair about the future. I have no fear about the outcome of our struggle in [Syracuse], even if our motives are at present misunderstood. We will reach the goal of freedom in [upstate NY] and all over the nation..."

Excerpts from "Letter from a Birmingham Jail" written by Dr. King on April 16, 1963

Witnesses to the Light

"There was a man sent from God; his name was John. He came as a witness to testify concerning the light... The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world."

Today is Epiphany, the day that Christians, since ancient times, have celebrated the coming of the Light. Those of us who have met Christ, the Light, like John have been called to be witnesses testifying to the light. John came with a very specific message, and he went to a very specific place, and in a very interesting way delivered that message.

Jess and I believe God has given us a specific message and called us to a specific place to deliver it. We are in the final stages (hopefully) of obtaining a house in the northside neighborhood of Syracuse. This is one of the more ethnically diverse neighborhoods of Syracuse, with one in every six of our neighbors being foreign born. Yet it is quite homogenous when it comes to socioeconomic class; one in three live below the poverty line, and the per capita income is near $13,000 (half the per capita income of the suburban town I grew up in).

Most of us would agree that racial segregation is wrong. However, the socioeconomic segregation that we participate in today is still racial segregation. People of poorer minorities are abaondoned to impoverished neighborhoods with decaying infastructure and educational systems, while the rich (and white) majority retreats to the suburbs to build their safe neighborhoods with first rate schools.

Our churches mirror this segregation. It was nearly 50 years ago that Martin Luther King Jr. commented on how Sunday morning is the most segregated time in America, but still today less than 7% of churches are considered ethnically diverse (check out this article from this week's TIME magazine). There is a darkness, or as my favorite author Richard Foster puts it, evil principalities and powers that divide us.

My family wants to be a light in this darkness. A light to our suburban church, a church that before God brought 40 African refugees to our doorstep was completely white. But also a light to the northside neighborhood in Syracuse. So often desegregation looks like minorities joining the majority, or the have-nots joining hte haves, however, Jesus modeled something different for us:

"For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich."

This is what we have been called to be witnesses to, the good news that the light has come to all people, no matter what your race or socioeconomic status.

As we seek to be living witnesses to this it may seem strange to some; that we would sell our nice home in a safe neighborhood to make this move. Many people from both communities may misunderstand us, and look at us as extreme. But then again, was it not the same for John, a fellow witness to the Light?