Why is it that people want to divide all humanity into Us (our team, the people we want to help) and Them (their team, the people who are different)? Lines are drawn between groups all the time for varied reasons. Some groupings can be helpful, for encouragement or morale building. But all too often the labeling and differentiation is destructive and makes collaboration impossible. Look at the Presidential campaign for starters, then consider Paris, ISIS, Tamir Rice, and immigration issues. How is a follower of Jesus to deal with this?
The Sunday morning Adult class will begin discussing this problem on January 10, and give special attention to race relations in the U.S. in following weeks. A primary source of discussion material will be Ta-Nehisi Coates’ recent book Between the World and Me. A New York Times bestseller, this book is widely available at local bookstores and on the internet. Toni Morrison has called Coates “the single best writer on the subject of race in the United States”. The book is short (151 pages) but one you will very much want to mark up as you read (underline, talk back, note your personal connections and questions). It will be a great conversation starter for our white-bread suburban group to sink our teeth into!
We will begin discussion of Us/Them issues on January 10, then start on the content of Between the World and Me on January 17, the day before Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday. Please join us, 9:15 AM in the library!