JACKSON, Tenn. — March 5, 2013 — Eliminating more than 200 years of racism won鈥檛 be accomplished easily, but it鈥檚 still a goal for which Christians should strive, according to Bryan Loritts and John Bryson of Fellowship Memphis.
Loritts and Bryson were the featured panelists for 51社区鈥檚 sixth annual Black History Month symposium Feb. 27.
Fellowship Memphis is a multicultural church recognized for leading racial reconciliation efforts in the city of Memphis. The idea to form such a church came from Bryson, who felt compelled to bridge the racial gap and bring races together.
鈥淲e felt that we could ignite hope,鈥� said Bryson, the church鈥檚 teaching pastor. 鈥淚f in the second most segregated city of America, a gospel-preaching, Bible-teaching, disciple-making church erupted, that was made up of multiple ethnicities and bringing African-Americans and whites together, it would be bigger than itself and remove excuses from other cities [to reconcile races.]鈥�
Loritts and Bryson focused on the theme 鈥淔rom Every Tribe: A Dialogue on Church, Campus and Community,鈥� as they addressed the diverse audience of black, white and Latino students, faculty, staff, local and state leaders of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and other members of the Jackson community.
Loritts, lead pastor of Fellowship Memphis, said the discussion of diversity churches in necessary 鈥渂ecause we are not being actively aggressive to bridge the [racial] gap and come together.鈥�
鈥淣inety percent of African Americans are in African American churches,鈥欌�� Loritts said, 鈥渁nd only 25 percent of churches are classified as multi-cultural churches, which really shocked me from an African American鈥檚 standpoint.鈥�
As a Southern city with involvement in the civil rights movement, Memphis has played a key role in black history. Loritts and Bryson said they recognize that through their work, they could create something monumental and historic in Memphis.
鈥淏y God鈥檚 grace, we want to rewrite the narrative of Memphis over the next four years,鈥� Loritts said. 鈥淲e continue to pick our leadership by looking for someone who has high cultural intelligence and can push their white or African American brothers and sisters without running them over.鈥�
Through their work, the men said they hope other churches will get a vision for similar action.
Frank Anderson, director of the associate of divinity program and associate professor of missions and ministry at Union鈥檚 Stephen Olford Center in Germantown, served as the facilitator for the panel discussion. This was the first time the program had a panel, as previous Black History Month programs featured only a single speaker.
The event was sponsored by the Vocatio Center for Life Calling and Career and the MOSAIC student organization.