Ferguson and Faith: Sparking Leadership and Awakening Community

11822762_10153585395149365_5138022202446270685_nFerguson and Faith, the new book from Leah Gunning Francis, takes us through the tragic death of Michael Brown in Missouri and how the faith community responded.For me, it is a story of hope. A common frustration that many of us who are Christian share is that our churches and leaders are absent when they are most needed. We concern ourselves with issues such as divorce and personal morality but ignore larger social issues such as racial injustice.Ferguson and Faith documents how interfaith leaders in the larger St. Louis community responded with courage, wisdom and a prophetic voice to the death of Brown and the protests that followed.Francis tells the different stories of individual clergy and protest leaders in their own words. The interviews are compelling and emotionally charged. You read firsthand how people who never expected to find themselves in leadership roles at the front lines of a new and emerging civil rights struggle learned by walking through the fires how to engage difficult issues and to fight for systemic changes in our society.Many of those profiled are people who are colleagues and friends to me from my days at Eden Theological Seminary, where I earned my Master of Divinity degree in 2005. It comes as no surprise to me that clergy such as Starkey Wilson, Nelson Pierce, Traci Blackmon, Heather Arcovitch and Deb Krause, Eden's academic dean, became such important voices in the days, weeks and months after Michael Brown's death. They each responded to the call to ministry with courage and humility. That much and more comes out very clearly in this book. Those of us in other communities can learn from their example.One of the concluding chapters notes that "There is a Ferguson Near You." We know that here in Portland, Oregon as over the years we have struggled with the deaths of unarmed and mostly African-American citizens who have died at the hands of Portland Police. The US Department of Justice investigation of the Ferguson police department, in fact, uses tools that were developed first here in Portland after it was determined that police in our city engaged in a pattern of discrimination against people with mental illnesses. Where the DOJ in Portland failed wasn't recognizing that almost all of those killed were African-American and that the issue of race was linked with police shootings. We know this is true in many other communities. So yes, there is work for all of us to do across the nation.My hope is that church members and students across the country will read the stories and hear the accounts of the faith leaders and young activists who demanded that racial injustices be addressed in Ferguson when others told them to go home and be quiet. Silence, as Francis illustrates so well, is not an option in these times.We should not debate the reality of racism and it's impact on our nation anymore than we should be debate the reality of climate change. This is settled science. Racism is well documented in sociological studies and in the findings of the Department of Justice as they look at practices undertaken by police bureaus across the country. We know that our system is not fair and is in places quite broken.All who have argued in the aftermath of Ferguson that "Black Lives Matter" should read this book, learn from the stories that it tells, and look for opportunities in all of our different communities to address racial injustices. Otherwise, we are doomed to repeat the mistakes that have been made in the past. The civil rights struggle did not end with the Voting Rights Act of the 1960s. Ferguson and Portland both remind us that there is a great need to address racism so that all of our people are more free. It is heartening to read in the pages of this book how faith leaders in the Ferguson area have boldly proclaimed that this is not the world that God has intended for us and that we can and must do better.

There shouldn't be, but just in case there is any doubt about the Black Church and it's role in the 21st century, let this book by Leah Gunning Francis clear up any doubt. The recent string of police shootings--- especially since 2013---placed the Black Church in the very precarious position of mitigating an increasingly angry Black community with, what appeared to many, as the militarized hard-line stance of the various police departments throughout the United States. Leah Gunning Francis' book, FERGUSON AND FAITH, is both a day by day account of community protests and personal interviews with the myriad of Clergy that came to Ferguson, Missouri---all of this following the police shooting of Michael Brown. So where is the Black Church, now? In Ferguson, Missouri: they're right in the middle of things---literally. Black and white clergy have consistently placed themselves between Ferguson protestors and local and regional law-enforcing personnel. The Fredrick Douglass quote that she opens Chapter Two, with, pretty much summarizes the spirit and intent of her book: "I prayed for 20 years but received no answer until I prayed with my legs." This book is uplifting. This book is important. It reminds me of King's, "Strength to Love," that was published 52 years ago.

I read it through completely and believed that it deserved so much more thought and reflection. Our local multi-congregational group was restarting its book club, and I was thrilled that this was the book we selected. Most of us read it and came to discuss and, after that initial discussion, we all decided it warranted more. We're now reading it aloud at each meeting, stopping whenever someone had a thought, reflection or question. We know it will take a long time to finish it, but that's appropriate as we all ponder where we can best fit in the issues confronting Ferguson and all faith communities.

Focused primarily on orthopraxy as opposed to orthodoxy. Although the distinction between the two is rather artificial, this book demonstrates how a holistic theology takes a practical element.Through an examination of the Michael Brown tragedy and the BLM movement, the author interviews and examines several religious leaders and youths on their understanding of faith put to practice in the context of BLM.

This book does a great job of describing how the BLM movement started and was sustained by the communities in greater St. Louis. The focus is on the relationships between clergy and the young protesters but it provides a good overall view. The technique used in the book is individual recollections with connective background and information. This has produced a powerful and informative story.

A must read for any pastor or any leader considering the essential work of justice. And if you are a leader or pastor of a faith community and aren't thinking justice work is your job, then you may doubly need this excellent book. So inspired and lots to think about.

Interesting perspective of local clergy involvement with events during protests in Ferguson, MO. Contains many interviews and some analysis of how leadership sprang up and evolved among protesters and clergy. Useful description of how clergy became buffer and negotiators between protesters and police.

My book group found this to be a compelling retelling of many Ferguson stories and a good springboard for discussion.