The Contemporary Role of a Prophet   

  

John Stean experiences the slave trail (Photo: Rob Corcoran)

The vision of Richmond as a Center for Community Trustbuilding is growing. Requests for training and consultation have come from Texas, Pennsylvania, Minnesota, Oklahoma and Rhode Island.  In recent years groups like the students from Duke University Divinity School have made a "pilgrimages" to Richmond for programs facilitated by Hope in the Cities and hosted by Richmond Hill.

John B. Stean, III who hails from Long Island, New York, was among the Duke students who walked the city's Slave Trail this month and reflected on the power and pain of history. They took a bus tour from the inner city to the far suburbs to see the legacy of racial and economic segregation. And they grappled with the vision of building a reconciled community.

Reflecting on what he had seen and experienced, John asked himself: "What is the contemporary role of the prophet? This pilgrimage has brought me closer to the realization that we are in the presence of the types of injustice that make the words of the prophets resonate. So many aspects of our culture today remind me of the very culture that they spoke out against. I cannot remain silent.

"I can't be honest with myself or with God if I say this is just a random field trip. I have entered into a contract of accountability with God. If I have any integrity at all, from this point onward I am involved. There's no turning back from this."  

A fellow pilgrim shared a similar sentiment: "I feel like I am being entrusted with something massive. What it will look like I don't know, but the rest of my theology will be shaped by this vision."
 
Chris Rice, who directs the Divinity School's Center for Reconciliation which sponsored the pilgrimage, notes that there are communities that deform people - whether the slave  markets of 19th century or today's artificial suburbs - and it requires another sort of community to convert them. "Baptism is not enough. We have to ask what kind of community we want to be part of.  This is not an 'I' journey, it is a 'we' journey." 

 

Read the complete story here.  

India Again After 32 Years 

Charles Aquilina with Parthiban at a ceremony to kick-off a campaign to plant 100,000 trees

 

The main purpose of my trip was to support the Dialogue on Making Democracy Real at Asia Plateau, the Initiatives of Change center in the hills south of Mumbai, India. Two hundred people from 32 countries responded to this important initiative. A full report of the dialogue is available on-line but here are three personal highlights:  

 

The first was hearing from the Egyptians who made up the largest delegation. A young leader of the Tahrir Square revolution in Egypt reflected on Gandhi's advice to Nehru before Independence: "If you face the arrogance of power with the arrogance of revolution, their power will beat you,"' and concluded that humility in their struggle would be their strength.  

 

The second was witnessing Vijitha Yapa, one of the largest newspaper and book publishers from Sri Lanka, comparing notes with Vice President Dr. Riek Machar of South Sudan who attended with a delegation of 22 from his newly independent country, about initiatives of reconciliation following very damaging wars.  

 

And third was seeing this center, with its striking natural beauty, work its magic on VIPs and ordinary people alike, giving them the chance to share their deepest experiences and convictions during early morning sessions on Nurturing Democracy Wellsprings.  

 

Following the conference, I took a 30-hour train ride with an Indian participant, J S Parthibhan, to meet some of his friends in Salem, South India, including those who feature in the fine 12-minute film Banking on Change. This film is a must-see - a banker who gets out of his office to meet people in remote areas who would normally never venture into a Bank.  

 

On my way back home to Washington, DC, a layover in Cairo enabled me to see five of the Egyptians who had participated in the Democracy Dialogue in India and other friends. The crowning moment was a visit to a crowded and tense Tahrir Square accompanied by friends who had been part of the amazing events which unfolded there last year. 

 

Read the complete story here.  

 

In an additional article, Gary Storm, a retired Professor/Dean of Education and Human Services at the University of Illinois at
Springfield, writes about his participation in the Dialogue on Democracy.    

Initiatives of Change has a record of achievement spread over eight decades and much of the globe. Documented contributions range from playing a role in Franco-German and U.S.-Japanese reconciliation after WWII, to helping improve the racial climate in Richmond, Virginia, the one-time capital of the Confederacy. 

These and other history-changing achievements happened because of those who committed themselves to living lives of conscience and self-giving service that inspired others to do likewise.

Today, the need to bind and heal is as great as ever, and I invite your help as we move strategically to grow our capacity to make a difference.

Since we cannot tackle every divide in our country, we have decided to focus our efforts in these key areas:

1. Racial reconciliation: Known as a national leader in this field and a flagship program of Initiatives of Change, Hope in the Cities has received a W.K. Kellogg grant to continue offering public programs for community leaders. In addition, we have successfully parlayed our experience into training for executives of Bon Secours Health System and other institutions, and we intend to develop this fee-for-service program for businesses, government agencies, and school districts to help support our operations.   

2. Economic renewal: In this decade, perhaps the most urgent challenge to our democracy is making our economy work for all, regardless of class, color, and creed.   A new initiative in Richmond, Virginia, Unpacking the 2010 Census: the new realities of race, class and jurisdiction is serving as the focus for honest conversation on this issue. This will provide a model for other regions of the country to generate greater understanding across the widening economic divides and constructive proposals to narrow them. The business community must be at the table in these discussions.

3. Religious understanding: A key concern for peace and security is building understanding between Muslims and Christians, and among other faiths. Our Washington-based team is skilled at engaging people of all faiths in the common challenge of living up to our professed values. We have effectively used two widely acclaimed IofC-produced films, The Imam and the Pastor and An African Answer, as touchstones of our continuing work in this field.

4. New  leadership: The Caux Scholars Program celebrates its 20th year of equipping next-generation leaders to take the IofC approach into leadership positions in a multitude of professions. A recent survey of alumni confirms the life-changing impact of the program and the experience gained to carry into real world situations. As Zeke Reich (CSP '04) of New York put it: "Nothing in my professional life would be the same without the inspiration and provocation of CSP - its vision of a connection between individual personal transformation and global social change has structured everything I've done since."    

On behalf of the board and staff of Initiatives of Change USA, I invite your feedback on IofC's direction, your active involvement in its work of trustbuilding, and your financial support.