The first anniversary of the August 12 “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville is approaching. I want to reflect on that event and highlight what the faith communities in the Charlottesville area are doing since then to address racism in our community. The events of August 11 and 12 traumatized us. We are still feeling the aftermath of those two […]
The Rev. Dr. Jan Rivero, Pastor of Wesley Memorial United Methodist Church, Charlottesville, speaks to me about the upcoming Charlottesville to Jamestown (Cville2Jtown) Pilgrimage on October 6-20, 2018. The Rev. Rivero is a member of the Charlottesville Clergy Collective. She talks about how the Cville2Jtown pilgrimage vision was birthed, what it is about, and how people can join and participate.
The Rev. Brenda Brown-Grooms speaks to me about the importance of community, hard conversations, and paying attention to the people around us. Rev. Brown-Grooms talks about what led her to New Beginnings Christian Community in 2011 to co-pastor with Rev. Liz Emrey, the founder of the church. Rev. Brown-Grooms has also been an active member of the Charlottesville Clergy Collective. She will […]
Christian Picciolini is a former neo-Nazi leader who now devotes his life to helping people leave white supremacist and other extremist groups. He is the author of White American Youth: My Descent into America’s Most Violent Hate Movement–and How I Got Out. I had a moment to speak with Christian about compassion and empathy before his presentation at Mt. Zion […]
I participated in supporting the clergy response against the alt-right rally in Charlottesville. Recently, my heart was cut to the quick when I reread Martin Luther King Jr.’s “Letter from a Birmingham Jail.” Particularly convicting was the first of two confessions by King: “First, I must confess that over the past few years I have been gravely disappointed with the […]
On July 8, a group affiliated with the Ku Klux Klan came to my town, Charlottesville, Virginia. They came to protest the planned removal of a statue of Robert E. Lee in one of our city parks. I’m part of the Charlottesville Clergy Collective, a group of faith leaders who have been meeting to discuss racial issues in our community. […]