Last night a group of about 16 people gathered at a small church in the Frogtown neighborhood of St. Paul to discuss the topic of race, reconciliation, and the Church. 10 members of the group were from Northbridge and were able to share some of their own thoughts and reflections as we discussed these topics and others from the book, One Body, One Spirit. One of the main topics of conversation was ‘how do we define race?’ so that we can know when it is happening. A couple ideas came up with this question including the idea that ‘racism is prejudice against a certain group of people in society combined with having power to use that prejudice over and against others.’ Since racism is based on skill color, the discussion often centered around how certain groups will discriminate against other groups based on skill color and use their power over those groups for negative purposes. Other topics that were discussed included the notion that racism has two aspects; individual racism and systemic racism. The first idea speaks to individual acts, thoughts, and behaviors while the second speaks to organized systems, communities, and structures that are in place to oppress people based on their skin color. Finally, the idea that racism is not something that is natural, but is a social construct (something put or built into us by society) helps us understand that maintaining the status-quo is unnatural and instead, standing against both individual and systemic racism is necessary.

Now you have the opportunity to share your thoughts; what have you learned about racism, from your own studies, experiences, or from reading the book One Body, One Spirit? Feel free to share your thoughts on these topics and how you understand racism so we can all benefit and learn from each other!

Be sure to check out some of Dan’s message from the past at our NB message page to learn and interact more with this topic: http://www.menliketrees.com/northbridge (see tab #2 for three messages on racism).

We were able to have some good conversations and interactions about the future of Northbridge at our most recent 5th Sunday gathering.  To keep the discussion going, please share your thoughts here with the rest of the community.  Just post a comment and share any ideas, thoughts, feelings, or perspectives you may have on that discussion and on the future of Northbridge!

Here is the book which was mentioned during our most recent 5th Sunday gathering at Northbridge.  If you would like to join in on reading this with the Leadership Team as we think towards the future and share your thoughts, check out the link to where you can order the book on Amazon for around $10.

Here’s the link: One Body, One Spirit by George A. Yancey

Maybe you’ve also got a favorite movie you’ve seen, CD you’ve heard, or book you’ve read that also explores cross-cultural competency.  If so, share it here for the benefit of the community with your comment!

In our continuing quest to become more ‘culturally-competent Christians’, we can all learn from each other.  Each of us have had some opportunities, whether large or small, to have a cross cultural experience and there’s often a good chance that we’ll learn something from it that could benefit others.  So, what about you?  Do you have a story to share of a cross-cultural experience that you’d like to share with the rest of the community?  Who knows, your comments may benefit others!  If you’d like to share one or more, just respond with a comment on this blog…

In our current message series on ‘Becoming a Culturally Competent Christian’, we are watching some clips from the documentary on the lost boys of Sudan called “God Grew Tired of Us.”  If you’ve already seen the movie, share your comments and rating here so others can know what to expect when they watch it.  Want to learn more before you check it out, check out the link below or watch the movie trailer here.

www.godgrewtiredofus.com

Our current message series is, I believe, an important one but a complex one.  Thinking and choosing about how to be a part of working across cultures is never a simple process, wherever it is.   In churches, it sometimes to be even more complex though.  So, what are your thoughts about this topic?  How important is this for churches in general, for Northbridge, and what thoughts do you have about how to take steps forward in this process since it can be so difficult?

As we celebrate Northbridge’s 10 year anniversary this month, do you have any fond memories or stories you’d like to share?   If so, please feel free to post them here for the benefit of the entire community.  Thanks!

For the last two weeks we’ve been discussing the topic of wisdom on Sunday mornings and the question was raised during our weekly ‘Question and Comment’ time about, how do we begin to live ‘beautifully foolish?’ Three examples were given in the message about people who chose live this way, Jesus, Mother Teresa and St. Francis of Assisi. They lived this way by doing things which most people of their time thought were absolutely absurd when it came to practical and generally accepted wisdom. However, their ‘foolishness’ in the eyes of the world ended up creating beauty out of the lives and worlds they touched and transformed. So, the question remains…how do we live ‘beautifully foolish’ today, in this 2st century world of ours? What are simple simple practical steps? Some large, systemic steps? Thoughts, questions, clarifications, comments, ideas?…then by all means, join in.