“Dr. King’s Beloved Community is a global vision, in which all people can
share in the wealth of the earth. In the Beloved Community, poverty,
hunger and homelessness will not be tolerated because international
standards of human decency will not allow it. Racism and all forms of
discrimination, bigotry and prejudice will be replaced by an all-inclusive
spirit of sisterhood and brotherhood. In the Beloved Community,
international disputes will be resolved by peaceful conflict-resolution and
reconciliation of adversaries, instead of military power. Love and trust
will triumph over fear and hatred. Peace with justice will prevail over war
and military conflict.”
The world has changed in the last six months in ways no one ever
imagined. It’s hard to imagine a person on the planet who has not been
impacted by the global pandemic and the clarion call for racial justice
and equity. And to state the undeniable reality, the impact has taken a
significant toll much more on some than on others. Either way, the most
important question is, how will we respond both individually and
corporately. Each of us must discern and determine how we will
navigate our way forward.
The above quote by Dr. Marin Luther King, Jr. has been center most for
those who have been laboring in the vineyard to bring forth a world that –
in Episco-speak – is summed up in the question, “Will you strive for
justice and peace among all people, and respect the dignity of every
human being?” Poverty, hunger, homelessness, racism, discrimination,
bigotry, will not be tolerated. Humanly decency, all-inclusive spirit,
peaceful conflict-resolution and reconciliation, peace and justice, fear
will prevail over hatred bringing forth love and trust: Beloved community.
I believe this is the template, the guiding principals of how we navigate
forward both individually and corporately. Do my words and actions at
their core respect the dignity of every human being? Are my words and
actions further building the dream of the Beloved Community? I believe
these are the discerning questions that each of us must ask as we move
forward in our world.
Source: Bishop Brian Prior – Navigating the Way Forward…