During a potluck and panel discussion on Sunday, Sept. 20, Blacknall ministry partners talked about reform in the context of the Bible and as an ongoing effort here in Durham. Leaders from Durham Congregations, Associations, and Neighborhoods (CAN), the Mt. Level Community Partnership for Racial Justice, and World Relief Durham shared stories about what it means to serve Durham’s people as well as changing the city.

Deborah Boston, a leader at Mt. Level Missionary Baptist Church and its Community Partnership for Racial Justice, said the group's work grows out of a desire to be transformed by God's word rather than simply conform to the world around them. This helps create “a beloved community that involves all aspects of both social and racial justice.”

Why Reform?

To open the event, Steve Hinkle shared why engaging in reform work is important:

Reform involves humble listening and relationship building with vulnerable communities.
This leads to engaging in justice work where sin and brokenness can be faced alongside individuals and within broader systems and organizations.
Our service to others is best practiced when relief, development, and social reform are engaged together.

Join the DMET email list to receive updates about ways to get involved.

That desire shows up in an ongoing book club, which has studied books like “Jesus and the Disinherited.” And “Migrant God: A Christian Vision for Immigrant Justice.”

“They’ve been very informative, but they’ve been very personal, shown collective lessons on who we are to one another, and what we can do differently,” she said. This fall's group started Sept. 22 with "The Crooked Places Made Straight," which looks at voter suppression, gun violence, mass incarceration, poverty, money in politics, and climate change. (You can still sign up to join.)

Cullen McKenney, a former Durham CAN strategy team member, spoke about a discipline behind the group's organizing: sitting down with someone for 30 minutes to learn what they believe and why. Bearing witness to stories in this way helps you think critically about the people around you and what happens locally, he said.

“He reminded us that the goal of reform work is not just policy work, but deep transformation,” said Bethany Bonnemere, a member of our Durham Ministry & Engagement Team.

Jada Alicea-Rochelle, an advocacy specialist for World Relief Durham, rounded out the panel by pointing to what she called the first reform effort: Jesus going to the cross to build a direct relationship with people. That idea, she said, is what pushes World Relief's caseworkers and volunteers to meet Durham's immigrant community with love and patience, and what keeps her steady in her own work with lawmakers.

"It is a tangible action to fervently disagree with someone and love them anyway, and take steps toward finding that common ground," she said. Prayer and relationship-building, she added, are still the surest way toward real change. "I think that is a spot of hope."

Get Involved with Our Durham Ministry Partners

In addition to our three ministry partners who joined for the panel discussion, read about all the local groups we partner with on our Durham ministry partners page .
Sign up for Mt. Level’s online book study series about “The Crooked Places Made Straight: Reflections on the Moral Meaning of America.”
Join the Mt. Level Community Partnership for Racial Justice for a “March to the Polls” event on Thursday, Oct. 15. The group will meet at 10 a.m. at St. Josephs AME Church on Fayetteville Street ( map ) before walking about a half-mile to an early voting site on North Carolina Central University’s campus.