What I Can/Can't Do

Karah lives in a rural Appalachian town where nationalism and personal freedoms are highly valued and diversity and non-violence aren’t popular. The town is filled with people who stop to help each-other change tires, high levels of drug addiction, friendly coffee shops, many gun stores, active church groups, cheerful cashiers, a neo-Nazi group, a large artisan community, a cross section of all kinds of people.

I cannot convince the gun store owner who puts up monthly billboards with harmful messages of fear and racism to take them down.

I couldn’t convince my daughter’s classmate that immigrants from Honduras are not coming to take his future job and resources.

I cannot use my Sharpie marker to make improvements to some of the bumper stickers I’ve seen in the WalMart parking lot.

I wasn’t able to shift a conversation with a man intent on evangelizing for a local area alt-right church (but I could at least leave the shop where I was accosted).

I can’t tear down the massive newly placed Trump/Pence signs that have continue to appear since November 4. 

I struggle to have open and honest conversations with family members who seem to have chosen allegiance to a particular politician above a theology.

I couldn’t even convince a close Christian friend that the simple act of wearing a mask is an act of love to our neighbors.

At a peaceful protest for Black Lives Matter in downtown.

Experiences over the past few years have left me feeling handicapped and impotent.  If I can’t encourage someone in close proximity to me to move in the direction of compassion or understanding, what am I even doing?

My own values, beliefs, and actions have been shifted by moments that seem almost imperceptible.  A conversation in a grocery store, a story shared over dessert, a podcast from a friend, a book, or just observing people in public spaces.  I am growing into the person I am because life has been teaching me so much. But. . . . social and relational tensions feel higher than usual.  Gentleness and lighthearted connections seem so rare.

It’s been easy for me to tumble into feelings of helplessness.  What difference am I making?  Does my one little life have any power for good? It took making a pencil-to-paper list to be reminded that there is so much I can do.

I can pause to recognize each person (no matter the billboards or bumper stickers, no matter the feuds or the false data, the mask or the unmasked) is a precious and holy Creation. As is.

I can listen to the stories quietly shared and ask questions to learn more.

I can speak up and share personal stories and experiences that have shaped and challenged my own thinking.

I can protest and exercise my Constitutional freedom to speak for a better world.

I can write letters to leaders prioritizing things I’m passionate about, or asking them to reconsider a position or a vote.  I can thank leaders for working toward a more just and kind country.

I can challenge my reading of scripture by listening to different teachers and hermeneutics.

I can welcome agnostics and atheists, fundamentalists and federalists, and hungry strangers and friends into my home for soup and bread and conversation.

I can seek connections with those who have not had the same experiences as me, and I can position myself to learn.

Good conversation in small groups beside a waterfall

I can hold grace and compassion for myself and the growth I have yet to know.  I can hold gentleness and love for those around me who don’t see the world or their neighbors the same way I do. 

The promise was never that it would be easy, but peacemakers are world changers. I’ve found tender comfort in the companionship of Jesus, knowing that the path He walked was just as divisive, just as political, and even more lonely and isolating.  And in this technological age, I’ve also discovered that community and encouragement is just a click away. 

Meet Claudia Allen- Our Newest Board Member

We welcomed Claudia Allen to our board last month and we’re eager to get to know her after admiring her passion and energy on social media. Welcome to the team Claudia!

APF: Tell us about what you are studying for your PhD and why did you decide on this path?

Claudia: I started my PhD in English Literature at the University of Maryland, College Park in August 2015. In May of this year I decided to leave my program and pursue full time employment at the intersection of faith, culture, and politics. So currently, I am prayerfully in a period of transition. But I am excited about the future that God has for me in full time social justice work.

APF: You’ve recently? Joined the Message Magazine team.  Tell us what you are doing there and how interacting with social media is being received by your audience?

Claudia: I joined Message Magazine in March 2019 as the Online Content Manager. In that role I am responsible for getting new writers for our website, editing the articles for our website, as well as managing our social media platforms. While in this role I’ve also created the Message Podcast Network, a group of various digital content both audio and video based available everywhere from ApplePodcast, Spotify, GooglePodcast, and our YouTube channel. With our growing digital content people have grown more and more aware of us and our message. Currently we have over 13k followers on Facebook, over 1k followers on Instagram, over 700 followers on Twitter, and over 230 subscribers on our new YouTube Channel. 

APF: What attracted you to the causes that you serve? What are the passions that drive you the most?  When did you discover or awaken to this?

Claudia: I have always been passionate about race-based social justice, particularly growing up in Berrien Springs, MI. My experience in Adventist Education was one that rarely and/or poorly celebrated diversity and that stirred within me the desire to change that my Senior year of Undergrad when I created and successfully implemented an African American Studies Minor housed out of the Andrews University History Department. As I’ve grown older my passion for justice only increased as these cases of police brutality became more and more prevalent. My prayer is that more faith-based organizations, churches, and believers understand how important it is to engage with society and politics.

APF: If you’re currently connected with a local church, how is that community involved in the work of justice and peacemaking?  What suggestions do you have for other local church groups?

Claudia: Currently, I attend the Emmanuel Brinklow SDA Church located in Ashton, MD where I serve as the Head Clerk. This is a church who has been committed to peace and social justice for over 10 years under the pastoral leadership of Dr. Anthony Medley, Sr. Most recently, they’ve been awarded by the Montgomery County Housing Commission for their work since March aiding in getting groceries to families in Section 8 housing. In addition, we’ve become a testing site for COVID-19 getting tests to those who otherwise wouldn’t be able to. Their commitment to holistic health and community is why I joined the church. I look forward to seeing what God continues to do with and through them, and how I can be of any kind of assistance to them.

I believe local churches must connect with their local council-members, leadership, and community at large. It is from these individuals that they will learn what their community needs. Once a local church knows what their community needs they can begin working with their community to establish initiatives and programs that meet those needs. We must engage with our communities as partners, not as saviors. We don’t know what they need more than they know what they need for themselves. 

APF: What advice would you give to students in a university APF chapter on involvement and peacemaking?

Claudia: Read. Learn. Grown. Take this time to consume as much knowledge and information that you can on what you’re passionate about. Then, find something that you can lend your gifts, talents, and passion toward. What in your University, church, or community needs to be changed? Don’t wait to get into “the real world.” Wherever you are in life is “the real world.” Always seek to affect change wherever you are.

APF: How do you de-stress ?

Claudia: I love watching reality television, hanging out with friends, and ordering from my favorite restaurants.

APF: Share your top three favorite podcasts, books, movies, media accounts

Claudia: Some of my favorite books are Paradise by Toni Morrison, The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin, The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead, Jesus and the Disinherited by Howard Thurman, and The Very Good Gospel by Lisa Sharon Harper. I’m not a big movie buff though I do watch a lot of movies I wouldn’t say I have a favorite. The truest thing for me to say is that I love Classic Disney films. When I listen to podcasts I tend to enjoy episodes from the Jude 3 Project, ExpediTIously, Unlocking Us with Brene Brown, and NPR Politics.

A shared experience in Alabama

In early October, Adventist Forum hosted a tour of some of Alabama’s most prominent civil right memorials and museums. The coordinator of the event graciously invited members of the Adventist Peace Fellowship to attend the experience. Marci Corea (University Peace Chapter Coordinator) was there with other humble learners.

Marci Corea at the Kelly Ingram Park in Birmingham, AL

Adventist Voices host Alex Carpenter also attended the tour and took some time to interview Marci about her experience. He asked all the right questions, and she and shared stories from the trip as well as her passion and love of peacemaking and justice work. We think you’ll enjoy learning more about the Peace Fellowship and discovering how accessible it is to become an active peacemaker like Marci in your own community. Episode link here.

The Equal Justice Initiative’s Legacy Museum in Montgomery, AL

16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, AL where four little girls were murdered in a 1963 white supremacist bomb attack.

The Edmund Pettus Bridge where peaceful protesters marched in 1965 towards the Montgomery capitol building and were violently attacked by armed police officers.

We encourage you to subscribe to the Adventist Voices podcast to learn more about interesting Adventist happenings, leaders in community, and fellow journeymen on the path toward peace and compassion.

Crossing the Line - The Conversation

Our co-director Lisa Diller was invited to engage in a conversation about race with the Kansas Avenue SDA Church based in Riverside, CA. Hosted by Pastor Michael Jenkins, the panel is filled with meaningful engagement on race shared between some highly aware and thoughtful people.

While this discussion is centered specifically on race relations between blacks and whites here in the United States, we found the conversation to be more broadly applicable to anyone living in an area where a minority population has been marginalized. The thoughts and ideas shared here can be utilized by any church to encourage participation in the active work of justice making.

Link to this conversation can be found here.

After listening to this conversation, we encourage you to reach out to a regional or minority led church and ask how you can support them in your community. Are there any initiatives that could use support? Speak with pastors and leaders to discover what the most pressing needs are in their neighborhoods. Offer to listen, offer to learn, and offer to be a vessel of the Spirit to partner in ways that are meaningful.

Part two of The Conversation with this panel is equally fascinating and full of information and challenges that are worthy of your time.

Link to the conversation can be found here