“But let justice and fairness flow like a river that never runs dry.” Amos 5:24
“Honesty and justice will prosper there, and justice will produce lasting peace and security. You, the Lord's people, will live in peace, calm and secure.” Isaiah 32:16-18
Today concludes our 6 weeks of Freedom School. It is a bittersweet day, saying good-bye to friends that we’ve spent more than 200 hours with this summer.
We have called Freedom School a “summer literacy program,” but it doesn’t do justice for the layers of impact Freedom School is having in our community. Freedom School, with roots back to the 1960’s civil rights movement, is empowering multiple generations of young people to discover their history and find their voices. With adults mentoring Servant Leader Interns, and SLI’s mentoring scholars, Freedom School is building a pipeline of leaders whounderstand who they are and know how to bring about change in themselves, their families, their community, and their world. So yes, Freedom School IS about literacy, because reading gives access, reading is power, and reading is equity.
As a congregation we have invested thousands of dollars and thousands of volunteer hours to bring Freedom School to our community. A program of this magnitude takes all of us, and this is a vital role for St. Luke’s to fulfill. And also, Freedom School is centered on the voices and experiences of our Black and Brown communities. They hold truth for challenges for which we have no answers. Through our relationships with Freedom School leaders, we are learning how to quiet our own voices in order to learn from and lift up the wealth of expertise they bring to the table. We are co-creating this beautiful place of belonging where we all enter as equals. In so doing, we live into our vision of being an open community, and we embody our mission to be a force of God’s radical, just, and inclusive love. Thank you, St. Luke’s, for being this kind of church! Thank you for your commitment to equity, to racial justice, and to Freedom School!
Blessings,
Shelly