Porch Talks for a Beloved Community
A speaker series of Heights Christian Church in which social justice leaders share their prophetic voices, to provide a continued call to work toward the Beloved Community imagined by the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
We’re back!
We are delighted to announce that our Porch Talks for a Beloved Community series is back! After a 2 year hiatus due to the pandemic, this year we offered one event, from the porch of the Van Aken building, on Saturday, August 27 at 5:30 p.m. The Rev. Dr. Jack Sullivan, Jr., Disciples of Christ minister and Executive Director of the Ohio Council of Churches, was our speaker, and music will was provided by the Greater Cleveland Choral Chapter. A light reception followed the program. We are equally enthusiastic about our partnership with East View UCC and Plymouth UCC to make this happen! Thanks to all who supported this event with planning, prayers, and presence.
Click here for archived information about the 2019 Porch Talks.
Heights Christian Church is a racially integrated congregation in Shaker Heights, Ohio, an intentionally racially integrated suburb of Cleveland. Our congregation has a legacy of speaking out regarding matters of social justice, particularly racial reconciliation.
In July 1965 we took the initiative to invite the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. to speak at our church. While many people reacted with fear and prejudice, our leadership persevered and Dr. King spoke from a porch of our church to a huge crowd assembled on the church property. (See footage here: https://www.heightschristianchurch.org/history/)
Dr. King often spoke of his vision of the “Beloved Community.” On its website, The King Center says of that vision:
“In the Beloved Community, poverty, hunger and homelessness will not be tolerated because international standards of human decency will not allow it. Racism and all forms of discrimination, bigotry and prejudice will be replaced by an all-inclusive spirit of sisterhood and brotherhood.”
The work to achieve that goal continues at Heights Christian Church.
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