#nofergusonhere

Hello Exit Hibernation!

My name is Ashley PBT and I am supposed to be a blogger for this site. So far, I am only responsible for the funny pictures of bears and today, something inspired me to put a few words down. Hello, Interwebs!

Following the events in Ferguson, MO, the Wichita citizens have organized and begun a campaign, #NoFergusonHere. http://kmuw.org/post/no-ferguson-here-community-discussion-wichita

With forums and prayer services happening around the city, the #NoFergusonHere project has become a movement some churches are getting involved with. Tonight, St. Mark UMC is hosting a prayer service as a part of the movement and my local church, Andover UMC of Andover, KS is joining in.

Andover UMC is a primarily Caucasian congregation that serves a higher income community. We house the food bank in Andover and have seen increases in our food clients every year since the "Great Recession." On Wednesday nights, we house a community meal that feeds our church family as well as a whole hoard of children who walk from a lower income neighborhood nearby.

When I heard about the prayer service a few weeks ago, I had a gut reaction: AUMC has to do this. We have to do it because I believe we are a congregation that cares about racial reconciliation and as a group who is primarily the people of power because of our skin color, this prayer service is a start to living out our values. We have to do it because I believe that these moments where prayer and justice intertwine shape who we are as a people and what we believe. We have to do it because the children and youth of our congregation deserve opportunities to be inspired and challenged in their faith and a chance to make holy memories that will last a lifetime... so do adults.

And so, we are going. We are sharing a meal and heading off for a night of Spirit led, Justice Seeking, Kingdom focused work. We are doing it and we will be the ones most changed because of it.

We are one church who has the ability to make it tonight and I know that there are many who aren't available. And yet, I believe we can all be a part of it together. Because of this, I compiled a list of prayers for you to participate in remotely. If you'd like to check it out, click the link below. Feel free to print it and share it. We are all in this together.