What is your mission?

By: Victor Johnson

During the first week of February, I had the privilege to attend the Samuel DeWitt Procter Conference. The Drake Hotel in downtown Chicago was the selected venue of the conference. The theme was, Reckoning with Power: Destroying Caste and Restoring Community. What a universal theme!  With this in mind, I was able to discern my calling and sense my interconnectedness with the world.

The workshop that addressed creating communion and ecumenical interfaith mobilization was an opportunity for clergy and lay leaders to learn how to engage their churches ministries with the community and the world.  The workshop addressed the similarity of communion and community and how both are related. Global missions are one way to embrace communion and community.   Missions, national and international, should focus on the needs of the community, not just on conversion and proselytizing people. Secondly, missions are the pillar of the ecumenical movement. This claim is supported by the fact that mission movements are sometimes the first to respond to national and international crises.  Third, missions also shed light on the interrelatedness in diversity.  I was surprised to find this dialogue happening at the conference.  This is exciting and emphasizes the growth and overall mission of the Procter Conference, which has historically been to provide a place where African-American leaders come together to discuss the issues of the day that plague African-American communities, and to promote civil, racial and economic justice.  Finally, from my observations of the conference I am encouraged that there are many voices, young, old, black, white, gay, straight, Christian, Jew, Muslim, Protestant and Catholics that are making efforts toward social justice. 

This conference is a good example of how to explore the common interest and core values of all humanity.  Although the Procter Conference is one the grass root organizations that represent African-Americans and their churches, a universal theme of community renewal resonates from the spirit of the conference.  Unless humans look within and consider their own biases and prejudices, generation after generation will continue to perpetuate such evils and divisions. There is power in unification.  Embracing change and diversity means looking at one’s own inner circle.  Do we consider the people we interact with on a daily basis? Do we really know our coworkers, family members, classmates, and associates? What can we learn from them?

From this inventory and other action steps, we can radically change our worldviews. Most of all, with a spirit of humility, we can listen to others and be challenged to commit to change and unity, and extend love to our various communities.  The power is within us to reckon with evil powers of hate and division and to take the Christian message of love and redemption to all humankind without prejudice.