God still made a way

By Kaylee Deardorff, 2020 Ministry Summer Service intern

In the early spring, I was debating what to do for the summer before my junior year of college. The head of the chemistry department had encouraged me to apply to an amazing research opportunity in France. I also had been feeling a tug toward ministry, but I was so unsure of what that would mean for me, a pre-med student. My pastor encouraged me to consider Ministry Summer Service, but I was unsure if that was something I should do. It would be hard to pass up doing research abroad if it came time to choose, but I decided to apply for MSS anyway and see where God would lead me.

The day before I heard back about the research opportunity, a feeling of peace washed over me as I thought about doing MSS and resolved to turn down the research offer if I was accepted. Turns out I didn’t get the research position, and I wouldn’t have been able to go abroad anyway due to the pandemic, so it was just as well—funny how the Spirit works sometimes.

MSS shifted to a virtual format, which in many ways was a blessing in disguise. Our weekly Zoom calls were fascinating sessions, including subjects like theology, work styles, and worship/preaching, with some additional sessions by people we would not ordinarily have heard from if we were in-person.

Our diverse group of interns made for especially engaging conversations, and when we collectively decided we needed to have an additional conversation set aside for race and the church, we did so. It was perhaps the most memorable of the calls for me. That conversation emphasized the importance of engaging in conversations with our siblings in Christ, even when the subject is uncomfortable or challenging. Additionally, we discussed the church as a whole and the need to empower members of marginalized groups through the unconditional love and compassion we’re called to share. It’s that conversation and ongoing reflection that bring up new thoughts and actions that continue to encourage personal and collective growth.

Of course, I missed getting an in-person placement, but I’m grateful that I got to be involved in my home congregation, Peace Covenant Church of the Brethren [in Durham, N.C.]. I worked with pastor Dana Cassell on outreach ideas, preaching during online worship one Sunday, and worked on a project to create a digital collection of devotionals and online resources for the congregation.

Along with MSS, my summer included taking an online class, working with my campus ministry to plan for the fall semester, and working with patients in nursing homes and hospice facilities as a home care provider. It was this combined experience that made me realize that part-time ministry—a reality for so many—is possible for me too. And ministry can look like so many things, including preaching a sermon, leading a Bible study, and providing care for patients in their last days. I don’t necessarily have to choose between a call to medicine or to ministry.

I’m grateful for the opportunity to participate in MSS and that the denomination provides such an experience to young adults for this kind of discernment. After this summer, irrespective of its unexpected twists and turns due to the pandemic, I realize that ministry will be a part of the life I live, no matter what, and I look forward to seeing where God continues to lead me.

Ministry Summer Service is a leadership development program for college students in the Church of the Brethren, sponsored by the Youth and Young Adult Ministry and the Office of Ministry. Learn more about this ministry at www.brethren.org/mss or support its work today at www.brethren.org/giveyya.

This reflection was originally featured in the October issue of Messenger magazine.

(Read this issue of eBrethren.)

Racial Inequality, Economic Injustice, and the Pandemic.

It feels like the past few months of the pandemic have been a slew of shocking numbers thrown at me. Like the number 7.3 million- the number of COVID infections in the US. 200,000- the number of COVID deaths in the US as of September 30th. But COVID-19 is not only a health problem. It is an economic problem with consequences that are expected to far outlast the pandemic. 40,000,000- the number of people who filed for unemployment since the pandemic. 637,000,000,000- the dollar amount that billionaires added to their wealth since the pandemic. As we journey to explore and reaffirm simple living, stewardship, just dealings, and mutuality in relation to economic justice and economic peacemaking in this pandemic, this second post in a series of four, looks at the need to address economic injustice through a racial equity lens. 

Addressing Racial Inequalities to Fight Economic Injustice. 

The deeply rooted racial inequality in the United States presents itself in disparities in income, wealth, access to education, housing, access to healthcare, and other economic indicators. Inequality.org defines income inequality as “the extent to which income is distributed in an uneven manner among a population”, and income as, “the revenue streams from wages, salaries, interest on a savings account, dividends from shares of stock, rent, and profits from selling something for more than you paid for it.” According to data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, for the last quarter of 2019, the median White worker made 28% and 35% more than the median Black and Latino workers respectively. Systemic racism and inequalities in the distribution of income present a hurdle in the accumulation of the generational wealth that is essential for economic security. (Inequality.org) Consequentially, racially minoritized populations do not enjoy the security blanket that generational wealth provides their white counterparts and are at risk of financial fallout from changes in economic conditions. 

COVID 19 has exacerbated these inequalities. 

In one way or the other, this pandemic has transformed all our lives. However, it is essential to note the magnitude of its impact on different racial and economic demographics. According to the Washington Post, “The economic collapse sparked by the pandemic is triggering the most unequal recession in modern U.S. history, delivering a mild setback for those at or near the top and a depression-like blow for those at the bottom.” “Historically, people of color and Americans with less education have been overrepresented in low-paying service jobs.” This overrepresentation in low-paying service jobs not only puts these groups at a disproportionately high risk of being exposed to the virus but also forces them to bear the brunt of its economic consequences. For example, Black women have only recovered 34% of the jobs they lost compared to White women who have recovered 61%. This is a major setback as it took Black Women up until 2018 to recover from the Great Recession.

Representation matters! 

The Post also found that “White Americans have recovered more than half of their jobs lost between April and February. Meanwhile, Black Americans have recovered just over a third of employment lost in the pandemic.”  

If the bodies making decisions on how to respond to the economic consequences of COVID-19 are those that have suffered least and are recovering the fastest, it is difficult to imagine the responses will be equitable. In our path to recovery, the goal should not be to return to normal. Instead, the goal should be to create systems that prioritize equity for minoritized populations. We must be proactive in advocating for COVID-19 response policies that apply a racial lens when addressing issues. We must educate ourselves about systemic racism and be aware that it can present itself in subtle, seemingly unrecognizable ways. We must try to use our voices to amplify and build up minoritized voices in the fight to dismantle oppressive systems. We must be mindful that the policies we support, or not, have life-changing impacts on many others. As such, we must be more intentional than ever in how we use our voices. 

Sources 

“Applying a Racial Equity Lens to End Hunger.” Bread for the World, 1 July 2020, www.bread.org/library/applying-racial-equity-lens-end-hunger.  

“Coronavirus Cases:” Worldometerwww.worldometers.info/coronavirus/.  

“Racial Economic Inequality.” Inequality.org, 25 Sept. 2020, inequality.org/facts/racial-inequality/.  

Report • By Elise Gould and Valerie Wilson • June 1. “Black Workers Face Two of the Most Lethal Preexisting Conditions for Coronavirus-Racism and Economic Inequality.” Economic Policy Institutewww.epi.org/publication/black-workers-covid/.  

Van Dam, Andrew, et al. The Covid-19 Recession Is the Most Unequal in Modern U.S. History. 30 Sept. 2020, www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2020/business/coronavirus-recession-equality/?utm_campaign=wp_post_most

Sowing peace through art


Art by Jessie Houff featured for the International Day of Peace service co-hosted by Washington City Church of the Brethren and the Office of Peacebuilding and Policy.
Photo by Jessie Houff

By Nathan Hosler, director of the Office of Peacebuilding and Policy

“Who is wise and understanding among you? Show by your good life that your works are done with gentleness born of wisdom. . . . A harvest of righteousness is sown in peace for those who make peace” (James 13-14, 18, ESV).

“Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness” (James 3:18, NIV).

On Monday, September 21, Washington City Church of the Brethren and the Office of Peacebuilding and Policy co-hosted a service to mark and reflect on International Day of Peace—or Peace Day. With the recommendation of Rev. LaDonna Nkosi, director of Intercultural Ministries, we invited two speakers from the Race Education Team from Central Church of Brethren in Roanoke, Va. They are both retired—one a lawyer and one a pastor—and are beginning to invest in learning and teaching about the historic and ongoing racism and injustice in this country.  They have waded into a difficult topic and task, investing their time and selves.

At Peace Day we also invited Tori Bateman to speak. She invested two years in Brethren Volunteer Service with the Office of Peacebuilding and Policy and now works with the Quakers in DC. She reflected on how our financial investments demonstrate our values and priorities, noting that, in contrast, over 50 percent of the discretionary spending of the Federal government goes to matters of war-making.

Alongside my work with the Office of Peacebuilding and Policy, I am also a pastor at Washington City Church of the Brethren, which is five blocks from the Capitol building. While it had decades of ministry with paid pastoral staff, we decided it would be best to shift to a plural non-salaried pastoral team model in 2014.

Over years of ministry and discernment, the topic of art has surfaced. Art as an exploration of God’s good creation. Art as a form of social justice. The church as a site of creating and featuring art. Along the way, we took out the pews from our chapel, and turned it into a music studio as well as a venue for occasional art nights.

A little over a year ago, Jenn Hosler—a community psychologist, one of our pastors, and my spouse—made a very rare visit to Facebook and learned something interesting. Jessie Houff, someone Jenn knew of but didn’t really know, posted that she had just graduated with a Master’s of Fine Arts degree in Community Arts in Baltimore, Md. Her final show had several Brethren-related themes woven through it. Jenn felt the movement of the Spirit to reach out. It turns out that Jessie—a former Brethren Volunteer Service volunteer—really wanted to work with a church and had almost gone to seminary. We weren’t quite ready to move forward and she had a commitment for the year. We spent the next year in discernment and building a relationship.

On Peace Day, Jessie officially started as our Community Arts Minister and became our only paid (part-time) minister. This is a bit risky for all of us, but we felt a clear movement of the Spirit. It is an investment in the peace of our community. It is a proclamation, we believe, of the reconciling work of Jesus and a witness to the call to justice, wholeness, and community.

As ministers at Washington City Church of the Brethren, we mirror the focus of denominational staff to continue the work of Jesus. As we go into our days may we discern the movement of the Spirit, and may we invest ourselves and our resources for the glory of God and for our neighbors’ good. For “peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness.”

The Office of Peacebuilding and Policy is a Core Ministry of the Church of the Brethren. Learn more about its work at www.brethren.org/peacebuilding or support it today at www.brethren.org/giveOPP

(Read this issue of eBrethren.)