We have the privilege of creating and holding sacred space
for whatever the Spirit is doing in the lives of individuals and in us as a community.
We listen together and all are transformed, rather than focusing
on telling others how to live and believe.
Our hearts are open to discerning what the Spirit is inviting us to bring to our communities…
From contemplation flows action.
The Way of Discernment in Community and The Way of Mission
Two of the seven core values for each Journey Center are The Way of Discernment in Community and The Way of Mission. As we develop community as the Journey Center of Michigan, these two core values have stood out. We are physically located in the greater Detroit area, and those individuals that have already been drawn to JCMI have a heart for the radical love of God expressed and practiced through efforts of justice. This comes in many shapes and forms, but one that has clearly been discerned for JCMI is around the long and challenging history of racial injustice and deep racial wounds that are a significant part of the story of Detroit. As part of this vision, Executive Director, Jennifer Andersson, has most recently been a part of a multiracial anti-racism discipleship program. In this year-long program, participants are brought into the breadth and depth of the human story of “othering” on a deep level, particularly when establishing gaps along racial lines. It is a challenging, sobering, and humbling journey and one that is necessary, more than ever before.
In May, Jennifer will be going on a Sankofa journey. Sankofa is a word from the Akan tribe in Ghana. It means San (to return), ko (to go) fa (to fetch, seek, and take). Sankofa attests that we must look backward (into our history), before we can faithfully move forward together, in the present and future. The Sankofa experience does just this, by exploring historic sites of the Civil Rights Movement, connecting the freedom struggle of the past, to our present realities. Sankofa invites us to understand racial righteousness as a critical component of our Christian discipleship. Sankofa empowers participants to become ambassadors of reconciliation inside and outside the church. It is our prayer that The Holy One will continue this work of recognition, repentance, and reconciliation through the work of the Journey Center of Michigan.