wfn.org | United Methodist Communications produces racial harmony

[NewsDesk <NewsDesk@UMCOM.UMC.ORG>]

documentary

Aug. 13, 1998	Contact: Thomas S. McAnally*(615)742-5470*Nashville,
Tenn.   {478}

By Nancye M. Willis*

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (UMNS) -- "Hope Out of the Ashes," a one-hour
documentary on achieving racial harmony in churches and communities, is
being produced by United Methodist Communications (UMCom) for the
National Council of Churches(NCC).  

The special, part of a "Vision and Values" series, will air on ABC-TV
affiliates around the country in October.

According to the NCC, the title acknowledges the fires of hatred and
intolerance that destroyed more than 100 churches, but more importantly
points to "possibilities of a reconciliation that goes beyond legal
imperatives to change places in the heart."

A live feed of "Hope Out of the Ashes," will be provided Oct. 11 at
12:30 p.m. (ET) to each affiliate, which has the option to carry it at
its convenience or to decide against airing.

United Methodists who want to ensure that the special will be carried in
their areas should contact representatives of local ABC affiliates.

UMCom's Nancy Jackson produced the special, which tells the stories of
how individuals and congregations in five Pennsylvania, Missouri/Kansas,
Mississippi and Tennessee communities confront inequality and how
interracial contact occurs in each.

Finding stories to tell was not difficult, Jackson said, because "when
we let people know about the planned special, they shared lots of
stories.  We picked a variety, not all in one arena, to showcase the
different ways people are going about the task of working on the issue
of racism."
Among those stories is that of Jane Sherman, a white woman who grew up
in the then-racially segregated town of Kingsport, Tenn., during the
'50s. "To use the religious term,(I was) convicted," she says, to
identify with a counterpart in Kingsport's African-American community,
and began to search.

Her chance meeting with Pauletta Crockett Sensabaugh generated
spontaneous conversation, recollections of people and places, and the
very different circumstances of each woman's upbringing. Their deepening
friendship is helping them recreate their childhood from both
perspectives and enter into each other's lives.

Across the state, in Humboldt, two congregations -- the all-white New
Shiloh United Methodist Church and the nearby black Salem Baptist Church
-- had both lost their buildings to fire, and each had made a
contribution to rebuild the other.
	
"You're not just rebuilding your church here," President Clinton tells
the Salem congregation during a visit. "You're showing America what's
special about America." The week of intensive preparation for the
presidential visit has expanded into other shared aspects of church
life, including occasional worship services. 

During the farm crisis of the 1980s, hard-hit white farmers outside
Kansas City formed The Missouri Rural Crisis Center to help alleviate
the depressed economy.  "The first real support that we got came from
the African-American community," a group of inner-Kansas City ministers
of African-American churches who helped to provide outlets to sell meat
and produce, says the center's Roger Allison. 

That gesture sparked the realization, according to Allison, that "part
of those struggles that we have . . .  as white farmers is the issue of
racism." Both groups now worship together occasionally, and enjoy a
barbecue, using the farmers' products. 

In Norristown, Pa., a stop on the famous Underground Railroad during the
time of slavery, three Mennonite churches (white, black and Hispanic),
were sharing a fellowship meal in 1988. "At that time," says Ertell
Whigham, then-pastor of the black congregation, "that the Lord really
laid it upon my heart that this is how the church of Jesus Christ ought
to be lived out ... together as one body."

The congregations combined, retaining three pastors and one governing
board, requiring some adjustment, and acquiring a strong spirit of
Christian unity. Two Sundays of the month the new congregation has both
an English- and a Spanish-language service; the other Sundays, a joint
service with translators.

In Biloxi, Miss., the 125-member Mississippi Reconciliation Choir
performs with the intention of breaking down racial and denominational
barriers and of bringing a message of hope to others. The group's
practice sessions include other elements of worship, and involve
multi-racial members of 18 local churches
	
"'Mississippi Burning,' lynching, rape . . .  We have an opportunity . .
. to really go out and change the image of Mississippi where Mississippi
is not burning . . . (with) negative things, but a burning of the
spirit," says Glen Johnson.

Jackson said "Hope Out of the Ashes" is intended to help "all of us to
look at places where racism is at work, and to realize that, as
individuals, we can have an impact."

"It's not a government job; we don't have a Martin Luther King Jr. to
lead us at this time.  We have to do it from the grass-roots level," she
added.  

For more information, contact Public Media Marketing, UMCom, P.O. Box
320, Nashville, TN 37202-0320; telephone (800) 476-7766.

#  #  #

*Willis is a staff member in the Public Media marketing unit of United
Methodist Communications.

United Methodist News Service
(615)742-5470
Releases and photos also available at
http://www.umc.org/umns/