Upcoming Service

Moving Deeper into Our Shared Stories: Poverty, Resilience, and Beloved Community

Eli Poore

Every action or inaction, every encounter and connection, sends ripples out into the larger community, as we explored last month. The term “Beloved Community”, coined by Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., imagines a space where all are beloved and embraced, where no one is left out or left behind, especially those impacted by structural violence. Just this year, the constitutionality of a local ordinance targeting houseless people in Grants Pass went to the Supreme Court and changed the landscape of how people experiencing visible poverty across the nation are impacted in a devastating way. This week we go deeper into the ways our actions, decisions, and encounters can be grounded in mutuality, reciprocity, and loving-kindness in order to work toward creating Beloved Community, and also examine the perils we face as interconnected individuals and communities when we labor under the illusion of separateness.