“What color are you?”  This was one of the questions posed as a small community of members of my parishes met with representatives of a Springfield A.M.E. church in two sessions over the summer.  (A.M.E. stands for African Methodist Episcopal; this ecclesial community originated in 1816 in Philadelphia.)  Well, one jokester talked about needing a coat of paint; the consensus, however, was that there’s brown in just about everybody’s hide.  This was one of several exercises which came from materials by UnityWorks, a Baha’i publisher.  (As I noted in an earlier column, it’s curious that a non-Christian group has managed to get some Christians together.)

As we witness the pain of nearby Ferguson, Mo.,  we recognize that working on racial issues must be persistent and unrelenting.  Our diocese’s Office for Social Concerns and Respect for Life can direct you to further opportunities to explore how to address issues of race.  

The Illinois Conference of Churches, an ecumenical group in which our diocese participates, is preparing for its Annual Assembly. “Has Christ Been Divided?: Emerging New Ecumenism” is the theme. The speaker is the Rev. Dr. John H. Armstrong, president and founder of ACT 3 Network, a mission for empowering leaders and churches for unity in Christ’s mission. He is a minister of the Reformed Church in America and a professor of mission at Wheaton College Graduate School, and is engaged in public and private ecumenical activity for the purpose of helping the church pursue the mission of Jesus.  He received the 2014 Luminosa Award for Unity from the (Catholic) Focolare Movement.  ACT 3 sponsored a conversation with Cardinal Francis George in a dialogue on unity held at Wheaton College. He serves in a number of mission partnerships including international Catholic-Evangelical Dialogue.  The ICC Annual Assembly takes place Friday, Sept. 26, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Emmanuel Episcopal Church, 102 N. State Street, Champaign.  The non-student fee is $35; the student fee is $10; either way, lunch is included.  You can register for this event, by Friday, Sept. 19, by phoning (217) 522-7099.  

Finally: We witness, in the area of Iraq, persecution of Christians by an extremist Islamic force. News reports have included mention of members of the Yazidi religion being persecuted as well.  I had not heard of this religion.  I find that most of its approximately 700,000 adherents, who believe in one God, are in northern Iraq. Its origins are obscure but it appears to be related to the ancient Persian Zoroastrian religion and to Sufi Islam. When we consider, among so many other griefs in our world, those which are precipitated by race or religion, you and I can make no better response than to immerse ourselves in prayer that human beings repudiate attitudes of making other humans a “problem,” and find in their belief systems the principles by which the great commandments of love of God and neighbor become real.