We started the day with a brief devotional and reflection time facilitated by Dr. Paulette Jordan, BGU's DTL Director. The time of spiritual formation is important for these urban immersions. God truly does amazing things through these experiences.
After spending some time with Dr. Rodney Robinson-Rodgers, the pastor of the church where our classroom is located, we ventured out into South Philadelphia. We started at Mother Bethel AME Church, one of the oldest primarily African-American churches in the United States. The pastor talked to us about the church's history outside, and then he led us on a tour of the building and the museum below the sanctuary. It was an incredible lesson in history.
In the afternoon, we visited Tindley Temple United Methodist Church. The pastor there, Robert Johnson, is a good friend of the professor of record for our course, Dr. Wayne Weathers. He talked to us about transformational leadership and his engagement with the powerful and the powerless in his neighborhood. He gave us a tour of his historic church that at one time in the 1920s and 1930s had nearly 10,000 members. His church is very active with vulnerable people in South Philly, and his leadership has been tested with the gentrification efforts that have taken place right outside the church. We're thankful that he spent so much time with us.
We're resting for tonight and then the group is planning to carry on with visits to North Philadelphia tomorrow, then Frankford, Kensington, Winfield Heights, and Center City throughout the rest of the week. It's going to be a great week!
No comments:
Post a Comment