On Sunday at Oak Life we had one of the most encouraging gatherings so far. After a week that was filled with both the blessings of Thanksgiving and challenges of division in our country, we sensed God leading us to reflect on the recent events in Ferguson together as these events are being deeply felt by our community and city and have implications for our faith. Even though this could have been a polarizing discussion, our time together was filled with humility, vulnerability, hope, and unity. The gospel truly has the power to transcend all of the boundaries and divisions we've created. What a great witness Oak Life can be to our city and nation as we continue to live out the gospel as a church and create a culture of listening and grace!
We know that these conversations must continue for healing to take hold, so we asked our friend Dr. Liz Lin to put together a few resources for us to go deeper. There are also a few other resources here including a video Matt put together for our Sunday gathering and a link to some videos from Project Peace. We're working on a few other ideas to keep things going (including posting the podcast soon) so stay tuned! Here is the list from Dr. Lin, you can check out her blog here (http://mynameiselizabeth.com):
(Just a heads up- this list is put together in order to continue this discussion, we may not agree with everything in these resources. One of Oak Life's values is Intellectual Engagement after all!)
Reading on Theology/Race/Power:
Disunity in Christ, by Christina Cleveland
Divided By Faith, By Michael Emerson and Christian smith
Unpacking The Invisible Knapsack By Peggy Mcintosh (4 pg PDF)
The Wolf Shall Dwell with the Lamb, by Eric Lew
The Case for Reparations, by Ta-nehisi Coates,
Black Like Me, by John Howard Griffin
The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander
Cultural Intelligence: Improving your cq to Engage our Multicultural World, by David Livermore
Disunity in Christ, by Christina Cleveland
Film:
The Color of Fear
Project Peace Lectures on Race and Faith:
http://www.projectpeaceeastbay.org/Race-And-Faith
Reactions in Oakland (filmed by Matt Evearitt)