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Three Days in Mississippi

By Janet Deranian
M.Div. 2007

June 2, 2005

The opportunity to participate in a summer internship in Mississippi intrigued me. As a resident of New Hampshire, I wanted to learn about another region of the country and about the complex history of race relations in the South. I hope to learn through this internship in the Mississippi UMC Conference office how the church handles the past, present and future of racial reconciliation. My first three days provided hints of the answers.

My first day in Mississippi was the celebration of Pentecost. I worshipped at Alta Woods UMC in South Jackson, an area known for its multi-racial and cultural neighborhoods. The worship service celebrated these differences through the participation of Korean, Swedish, Japanese and English speakers. The different languages highlighted in an extraordinary way the gift of the Holy Spirit and how the Christian faith stretches around the world.


Photo courtesy of Jane Adams, Southern Illinois University Carbondale.
Civil rights activist Jane Adams and a teen-age resident of Harmony, Miss., pose with a cross prepared for burning during Freedom Summer, a 1964 attempt to register black voters. The cross, erected in the heart of the Harmony community, for some reason failed to ignite.
During our second day, the Duke Divinity School interns traveled with a group to Philadelphia, Miss., where three civil rights workers were killed in 1964 during “Freedom Summer,” a campaign to register black voters. On this pilgrimage, we had the privilege of listening to people who worked and grieved through the events of that summer 40 years ago. Through their stories, I learned of both the pain in Mississippi’s past and the hope in its future. A coalition of groups in the Philadelphia area now works to create positive connections between the white and African-American communities and to change the reputation of their community for racial intolerance to one of racial reconciliation. I realized on this trip that sharing the burden of painful memories can provide a pathway to healing. As a witness to these stories, I also become part of the legacy of these events.

On my third day in the Mississippi Conference I attended a meeting of the bishop’s cabinet. One of the five initiatives of the conference includes building and strengthening relationships across races and cultures. These initiatives provide the benchmarks by which the activities of the conference are measured. One of the programs includes strengthening UMC churches with African-American congregations through offering church development and revitalization opportunities.

I feel blessed to observe the efforts of those working in Mississippi toward building community through a ministry of racial reconciliation. The very nature of our relationship with God challenges us to continue the reconciliation process with one another. My future ministry will include a strong commitment to reconciliation among humanity and between humanity and God.

< Week 1    |    Week 3 >