I decided to learn a little more about the church I attended. From the AME Zion website:
“…the AME Zion Church made the salvation of the whole person--mind, body and spirit--its top priority. At the crux of its ministry lay racial justice, peace and harmony, thus earning it the title, the Freedom Church….”
I certainly like the focus on the mind and body, as well as the spirit.
“Devoted to religious, educational and social causes, the AME Zion Church and its members have been instrumental in many of the freedom struggles of this nation, dating back to the days when former slaves Frederick Douglass, Sojourner Truth and Harriet Tubman led the first wave of Black social activism. Since that time, AME Zion members have made other significant contributions. AME Zion Bishop Alexander Walters, along with Dr. W.E.B. DuBois, helped to found the NAACP. Bishop Walters was also a pioneering member of the Pan-African Congress. And many of the denomination's clergy and lay people were active participants in the Civil Rights Movement of the '60s.”
Wow, that’s an impressive heritage.
In my town, the little church I attended seems to have been very active in the 1800s for black education and abolition. The members actively assisted escaped slaves, and the original building was possibly even a stop on the Underground Railroad.<
Despite the song, it wasn’t faith alone that brought our country this far. It took bloody battles, eloquent speakers, tough times, and mighty struggles. Many many people had their hearts and minds changed, and it took incremental changes over many generations to get us here.
I have to remember this in my own journey. I must combine faith and action. It is not enough to sit around and wait for the Lord to make a way, but I also cannot think it is only my works that make change possible.
Harriet Tubman
