Community Dialogue Sat. (office closed on Friday)
Due to inclement weather... the church office will be closed from Thursday afternoon through Friday (Feb. 21-22). Pastors and staff may be contacted at home.
See note below about the session at KBC, Saturday, 10:00 to noon:
MEACHAM PARK NEIGHBORHOOD IMPROVEMENT ASSOCIATION
This information sheet has been authorized by Mrs. Harriet Patton, President of the Meacham Park Neighborhood Improvement Association, and developed as a collaboration between Franklin McCallie, former principal of Kirkwood High School, and Ron Hodges, longtime resident of the Meacham Park neighborhood.
Mrs. Patton has requested that Ron Hodges and Franklin McCallie be co-chairs of a citizen committee whose mission will be to start the long term process to find understanding and healing within the Kirkwood community, following the tragedy of Thursday, 7 February 2008.
This committee will not be an official city or governmental body. It will be led by and peopled by community volunteers who think that any problem in America can be solved if caring Americans respect the dignity all other human beings in our society and work together in a journey for peace, healing, and reconciliation.
Communication and togetherness will be our first concern. Before we can seek to hold meetings in which to define community problems and search for solutions to those problems, we will need to meet and talk with each other across every boundary: race, color, creed, religion, age, gender identity, economic status, physical challenge, etc. For until we come to know and respect each other, there will be no peace; there will be little growth and learning, and there will not be happiness and fulfillment for all our citizens.The above is a very general statement for our committee. This statement does not mandate how to do our work, and there are, at present, no suggestions as to what projects to initiate. Regardless of the informal nature of the charge and our status, we would rather a number of citizens--large or small--begin to move.
What we believe we need is a dedicated group of citizens who represent a wide range of voices and interests and who have one major goal in common--the bringing together of all the various peoples of our community, with admitted emphasis on the interaction between our black and white neighbors.
Some of us have had experience in other cities in which groups such as this started with dialogue meetings in which persons got to know each other and shared personal and cultural experiences. The rules were only two: (1) be honest; (2) be courteous.
In these former groups, after dialoguing and listening to each others' hopes, dreams, fears, doubts, and concerns--we began to establish written plans for movement into various projects. We began visitations to interview specific people and visit specific places having to do with various problem situations or various goals as mentioned in our small and/or large groups. This is only one route to take on this journey, but it is a route which has been successful in other cities in the past.
Harriet Patton contacted Rev. Dr. Scott Stearman, Senior Pastor of Kirkwood Baptist Church, and asked him to reserve facilities for a meeting of interested citizens for this coming Saturday, 23 February 2008, at 10 a.m. until noon. Pastor Stearman and Kirkwood B Baptist Church will provide coffee, juice, and rolls as refreshments. Kirkwood Baptist is at the corner of Adams and Woodlawn.
It is our desire to open this meeting to those who would sincerely like to be there, be it 20 or 200. Our vision is that we would begin as a large group in the sanctuary with the announcement of general plans, and then break up into smaller groups so that all participants can actually participate by first introducing themselves and then by voicing personal hopes, beliefs, and possible concerns.
Please understand that all persons will be dialoguing with all other persons. This means that we must cross all kinds of boundaries which keep human beings from making genuine contact with each other. For instance, it will not only be white and black citizens who will get to know each other, rather white citizens will need to listen to other white citizens, and black citizens will need to listen to other black citizens, etc.In future meetings, as we begin to know and trust each other, we will begin to identify agenda items which continue to arise. We will seek to establish methods by which we seek information and establish goals which we would like to meet. While there is certainly a destination which we would like eventually to reach as described above, much of the success of our mission will be realized within the journey.
See note below about the session at KBC, Saturday, 10:00 to noon:
MEACHAM PARK NEIGHBORHOOD IMPROVEMENT ASSOCIATION
This information sheet has been authorized by Mrs. Harriet Patton, President of the Meacham Park Neighborhood Improvement Association, and developed as a collaboration between Franklin McCallie, former principal of Kirkwood High School, and Ron Hodges, longtime resident of the Meacham Park neighborhood.
Mrs. Patton has requested that Ron Hodges and Franklin McCallie be co-chairs of a citizen committee whose mission will be to start the long term process to find understanding and healing within the Kirkwood community, following the tragedy of Thursday, 7 February 2008.
This committee will not be an official city or governmental body. It will be led by and peopled by community volunteers who think that any problem in America can be solved if caring Americans respect the dignity all other human beings in our society and work together in a journey for peace, healing, and reconciliation.
Communication and togetherness will be our first concern. Before we can seek to hold meetings in which to define community problems and search for solutions to those problems, we will need to meet and talk with each other across every boundary: race, color, creed, religion, age, gender identity, economic status, physical challenge, etc. For until we come to know and respect each other, there will be no peace; there will be little growth and learning, and there will not be happiness and fulfillment for all our citizens.The above is a very general statement for our committee. This statement does not mandate how to do our work, and there are, at present, no suggestions as to what projects to initiate. Regardless of the informal nature of the charge and our status, we would rather a number of citizens--large or small--begin to move.
What we believe we need is a dedicated group of citizens who represent a wide range of voices and interests and who have one major goal in common--the bringing together of all the various peoples of our community, with admitted emphasis on the interaction between our black and white neighbors.
Some of us have had experience in other cities in which groups such as this started with dialogue meetings in which persons got to know each other and shared personal and cultural experiences. The rules were only two: (1) be honest; (2) be courteous.
In these former groups, after dialoguing and listening to each others' hopes, dreams, fears, doubts, and concerns--we began to establish written plans for movement into various projects. We began visitations to interview specific people and visit specific places having to do with various problem situations or various goals as mentioned in our small and/or large groups. This is only one route to take on this journey, but it is a route which has been successful in other cities in the past.
Harriet Patton contacted Rev. Dr. Scott Stearman, Senior Pastor of Kirkwood Baptist Church, and asked him to reserve facilities for a meeting of interested citizens for this coming Saturday, 23 February 2008, at 10 a.m. until noon. Pastor Stearman and Kirkwood B Baptist Church will provide coffee, juice, and rolls as refreshments. Kirkwood Baptist is at the corner of Adams and Woodlawn.
It is our desire to open this meeting to those who would sincerely like to be there, be it 20 or 200. Our vision is that we would begin as a large group in the sanctuary with the announcement of general plans, and then break up into smaller groups so that all participants can actually participate by first introducing themselves and then by voicing personal hopes, beliefs, and possible concerns.
Please understand that all persons will be dialoguing with all other persons. This means that we must cross all kinds of boundaries which keep human beings from making genuine contact with each other. For instance, it will not only be white and black citizens who will get to know each other, rather white citizens will need to listen to other white citizens, and black citizens will need to listen to other black citizens, etc.In future meetings, as we begin to know and trust each other, we will begin to identify agenda items which continue to arise. We will seek to establish methods by which we seek information and establish goals which we would like to meet. While there is certainly a destination which we would like eventually to reach as described above, much of the success of our mission will be realized within the journey.
posted by Kirkwood Baptist at 1:42 PM
