Building the Beloved Community
(Tuesday Dec 6th and Dec 13th – 7:00-8:30pm)
This political season has shown that there are great divisions in our country and a variety of visions for what the United States should be. Much is unknown about who we are in the eyes of the world and in the eyes of the most vulnerable within the United States. Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. articulated a vision for a “Beloved Community.” What is the Beloved Community? This is from The King Center, http://www.thekingcenter.org/king-philosophy
“For Dr. King, The Beloved Community was not a lofty utopian goal to be confused with the rapturous image of the Peaceable Kingdom, in which lions and lambs coexist in idyllic harmony. Rather, The Beloved Community was for him a realistic, achievable goal that could be attained by a critical mass of people committed to and trained in the philosophy and methods of nonviolence.
Dr. King’s Beloved Community is a global vision, in which all people can share in the wealth of the earth. In the Beloved Community, poverty, hunger and homelessness will not be tolerated because international standards of human decency will not allow it. Racism and all forms of discrimination, bigotry and prejudice will be replaced by an all-inclusive spirit of sisterhood and brotherhood. In the Beloved Community, international disputes will be resolved by peaceful conflict-resolution and reconciliation of adversaries, instead of military power. Love and trust will triumph over fear and hatred. Peace with justice will prevail over war and military conflict.”
On Tuesday, December 6th and December 13th we will discuss ways in which we can hold up the Beloved Community as a vision and ways in which we can concretely work toward it in our own community.
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