By Sandy Bosserman
Nineteen people attended the “Who Will Be a Witness?” workshop on Saturday, Oct. 31, at Cabool (Mo.) Church of the Brethren. We appreciated the leadership of former pastoral couple Roger and Carolyn Schrock, now living in McPherson, Kan. Discussion grew from the book of the same title by Messiah College and Harrisburg (Pa.) First Church of the Brethren member, professor Drew Hart, with the added subtitle, “Igniting Activism for God’s Justice, Love, and Deliverance.”
The Witness Commission of the church planned the event as a successor to an event held a couple years ago to further address the scourge of racism in light of Jesus’ teachings and ministry. Highlighting portions of the book and enabling small group discussion resulted in substantive and challenging dialogue, and we pray for courage as we openly attempt to address racism and prejudice of many kinds, toward many “groups” of people, in our communities and beyond, with more than reaffirming, “We’re doing just fine, in the name of Jesus.”
We have several copies of the book and are happy to loan them to anyone or any congregation interested in tackling this difficult topic.
— Sandy Bosserman is a former district executive. This report first appeared in the newsletter of Missouri and Arkansas District of the Church of the Brethren.
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