{"id":7385,"date":"2020-07-15T11:42:54","date_gmt":"2020-07-15T16:42:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.brethren.org\/?p=7385"},"modified":"2020-07-15T11:42:54","modified_gmt":"2020-07-15T16:42:54","slug":"ebrethren-7-15-2020","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.brethren.org\/blogtest\/2020\/07\/15\/ebrethren-7-15-2020\/","title":{"rendered":"Building community in the time of a pandemic"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\t\t\t\t\n
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The Everyday Ubuntu<\/em>\u00a0book discussion group earlier this month. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

By LaDonna Nkosi, the director of Intercultural Ministries <\/em>

The time of quarantine and sheltering in place has given us opportunities to connect and be in conversation together in new ways. Since March, Intercultural Ministries of the Church of the Brethren has been hosting #ConversationsTogether and online discussions about the book Everyday Ubuntu: Living Better Together the African Way<\/a>.<\/em>

I have very much enjoyed hosting #ConversationsTogether.\u00a0 It has been a highlight each week to gather with people from across the denomination to listen and share stories as we journey together in reading and discussing Everyday Ubuntu<\/em>. The chapters entitled \u201cPut Yourself in the Shoes of Others,\u201d \u201cStrength Lies in Unity,\u201d \u201cChoose to See the Wider Perspective,\u201d\u00a0 \u201cThe Power of Forgiveness\u201d and \u201cHave Dignity and Respect for Yourself and Others\u201d are just a handful of topics that have guided our conversation. We also were able to have a discussion with the author, Mungi Ngomane, and Brethren from both the US and Africa were in attendance. Mungi is a peace and justice advocate, a board member of the Tutu Foundation, and the granddaughter of Nobel Peace Prize recipient Archbishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa, and it was a blessing to talk with her.

Carolyn Fitzkee of Lancaster (Pa.) Church of the Brethren said, \u201cBeing an introvert, this online Zoom experience has stretched me out of my \u2018comfort zone.\u2019 I have been blessed by meeting new people from across the denomination and challenged in my faith by studying the concept of \u2018ubuntu.\u2019 I especially enjoyed finding scriptures to go along with each lesson.\u201d\u00a0

Michaela Alphonse, pastor of Miami (Fla.) First Church of the Brethren\u00a0shared, \u201cThe\u00a0book discussion group has created a space to talk about race and justice, what it means to live in an interdependent society, and what it looks like to be in relationship with one another.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0

Reading and discussing Everyday Ubuntu<\/em> has helped us \u201chave a deeper respect for one another, in spite of major differences,\u201d said Eric Anspaugh Central (Va.) Church of the Brethren of Roanoke.\u00a0 \u201cI am learning so much about myself and experiencing the insights of others.\u201d

Ellen Whitcare Wile of Easton (Md.) Church of the Brethren shared that she has appreciated \u201ctalking with others from wide and varied experiences about how it is possible to build unity by working together.\u201d She continued, \u201cIn order to live prosperously together, it is so important to reconcile where needed, and be truthful and respectful of each other.\u201d

In what ways are you being in community in this season? How are you, your church, family, or community connecting with others during this time? Churches from around the denomination are connecting online and in other ways to break through isolation and build community. Virlina District and Central Church of the Brethren in Roanoke have welcomed more than 50 people in an online book discussion of The Color of Compromise<\/a> <\/em>by Jemar Tisby.\u00a0 Harrisburg (Pa.) First Church of the Brethren will be discussing this book also.\u00a0 Peace Covenant (N.C.) Church of the Brethren will be reading and discussing How to Be an Anti-racist <\/em>by Ibram X. Kendi.

If you\u2019re interested in joining a discussion:<\/strong>

> Connect online for #JourneyThroughJulyandAugust<\/strong>, an online series of racial justice and intercultural educational posts at the Intercultural Ministries Facebook page (www.facebook.com\/interculturalcob<\/a>).\u00a0 #JourneyThroughJulyandAugust is co-hosted by the Office of Peacebuilding and Policy and Intercultural Ministries.

> Join us Thursday, Aug. 6,\u00a01 p.m. Eastern Time<\/strong> for \u201cWhat It Means to Be an Anti-racist Church in These Times,\u201d an interview with Rev. Dr. Grace Ji-Sun Kim, professor of Theology at Earlham School of Religion.\u00a0 She is the author of books including Reimagining Spirit, Keeping Hope Alive: The Sermons of Rev. Jesse L. Jackson, Sr. <\/em>and co-author of Intercultural Ministry. <\/em>This event is co-hosted by the Office of Ministry and Intercultural Ministries.

However you are able to connect with us and the larger church in this season, may the Lord bless you!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Learn more about Intercultural Ministries at www.brethren.org\/intercultural<\/a>, receive resources by joining the Intercultural Ministries email list at www.brethren.org\/intouch<\/a>, or support this Core Ministry of the Church of the Brethren at www.brethren.org\/givediscipleship<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\tRead a reflection by LaDonna Nkosi, director of Intercultural Ministries, in this week’s issue.\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[620],"class_list":["post-7385","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ebrethren","tag-intercultural-ministries"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.brethren.org\/blogtest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7385","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.brethren.org\/blogtest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.brethren.org\/blogtest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.brethren.org\/blogtest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.brethren.org\/blogtest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7385"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.brethren.org\/blogtest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7385\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.brethren.org\/blogtest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7385"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.brethren.org\/blogtest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7385"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.brethren.org\/blogtest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7385"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}