MWR : Articles : John Powell

Articles : John Powell

Soul searching

I went deep-sea fishing during my stay in Florida this winter. I was the only person of color on the boat. During the trip, two boaters talked about not receiving their welfare checks, while looking at me and smiling. I got up and left, since I believed they were referring to me.

Shortly, one of the crew came to me and said, “Why are you on this boat with these redneck white folks?” I told him I like to fish. Pointing to the two fishermen who had uttered the welfare remark, he said, “You must be religious. I can’t deal with folks like that. That’s why I’m back here with you.”

Power of sameness

Power dynamics contribute to segregated pews in Mennonite and Anabaptist congregations. Here are two incidents that may help to highlight this dynamic.

Segregated pews

In my last column, I wrote that our vision is to live out Rev. 7:9 here on earth. We are all collaborators in the search for a racially inclusive community. I believe the congregation is where God’s work of reconciliation will finally take shape. It’s here that we accomplish our individual and collective mission.

Counsel for 2013

I retired from Mennonite Mission Network, the mission agency for Mennonite Church USA, on Dec. 31. As national staff, I spoke into the internal workings of the denomination. I spoke from the center of the church even though my voice did not always reflect the thoughts of the national church. Now, I speak from the center of the church from outside formal structures. My voice, then and now, calls for racial reconciliation and inclusion.

Progress and power

While preparing my papers for archiving, I came across a message I preached in 1970. It caused me to pause and reflect. In the sermon I stated, “We are constantly being made aware that the problem involved in racial reconciliation is two-sided. White people do not feel committed to understanding minority peoples and their problems. Minority people are critical of white folks’ negative attitude toward them. Minority peoples are exploring and discovering their own identity and rejecting the ‘white’ way of existing.”

Why I pray this way

I was asked recently to pray during a meeting. My prayer was in the style of an African-American preacher.

Becoming a white ally

Several months ago I was asked by a white friend what he could do to improve race relations in his church and community. He had encountered a racial incident that made him uncomfortable, but he didn’t do anything about it.

Don’t tolerate me

During my mother’s funeral in December, I was reminded of my rich Baptist heritage. It was filled with lively music, praise, prayer, worship and celebration. I’ve witnessed that fire and passion among my Hispanic, Native American and immigrant brothers and sisters. There’s a richness there that says, “God is here, now!”

Must race divide?

Mennonites in North America are seeking to become a multicultural and interracial church. National bodies have adopted statements that place this as a high priority. Many congregations have expressed a desire to become racially, socially and economically inclusive. There is a feeling that we are a multicultural church in which people of color are embraced and feeling at home.

A more colorful church

As I begin this column, I speak from the center of the denomination. People in the center are discovering and living out the values of Anabaptism. I am just one voice of many.