Discussion guide for February 2025 issue

The author summarizes many historical moments and identifies many participants in the Presbyterian involvement in the Civil Rights Movement. How much of that history are you familiar with? What are some of your most vivid memories?
What are the significant contributions Presbyterians made in advancing the civil rights of Black Americans?
What are some things you are proud of and some things you are ashamed of regarding the role of Presbyterian leaders and churches in the Civil Rights Movement?
Who are some persons, and what events can you recall or think of that were significant contributors to the Civil Rights Movement by church leaders?
What has been your personal experience regarding Civil Rights in the Presbyterian Church?

Questions:

Do you know anyone convicted of a felony whose experience was like the author’s? How similar or different was that person’s experience compared to the author’s?
What are your thoughts regarding speaking and writing about persons using first-person language instead of labels? To what extent do you think labels marginalize people?
How realistic do you think it is to imagine Donald Trump’s convictions as a felon setting a precedent for other convicted felons being able to experience a change in how others view them or how they view themselves?
The author is an elder in a Presbyterian church. How do you imagine the church reached out to her, welcomed her, and nurtured her into becoming a member and
an elder?
What lessons have you taken from this article that are relevant to your church’s ministry?

Questions:

When you finished reading this article, what was your first response?
If you were active in a Presbyterian church in the 1950s, what are your memories of your church’s stance regarding welcoming African Americans to your church? Was this an issue that your pastors or elders addressed?
If you were not active in a Presbyterian church in the 1950s, what would you have learned, and what would you like to explore further?
What are some questions you would like to ask the author related to broader research on the role of the Presbyterian Church in the Civil Rights Movement?

Questions:

What are some thoughts or observations you have regarding how the author has defined and described the concepts of poor, poverty, living wage, and cost of living?
How informed are you about the Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival? If not informed, how will you become more informed?
Reread the paragraph that begins, “Poverty is a leading cause of death in the richest country in the world.” What insights, challenges, and questions does this article raise for you?
The author states, “By denying the humanity of others, we are given permission to exploit or exclude people economically.” To what
extent is this true where you live? How can the church’s ministry address that issue?
To what extent do you agree with the author’s statement, “We are living in the midst of a ‘kairos moment’”?

Questions:

Have you ever been on a pilgrimage, intentional or unintentional? If you have been on a pilgrimage, what was your experience? If you have not been on a pilgrimage, to what destination would you like to be a pilgrim?
In the stories about planning, leading, and experiencing pilgrimages to Civil Rights sites in the South, what stands out in your mind about the value of such pilgrimages?
If you were to plan a pilgrimage for youth and adults in your church, where would you like to take them? What do you hope they would experience and learn from the pilgrimage?
What more would you like to know about the authors’ experiences with the youth and adults on the pilgrimages they planned and led?

Donald L. Griggs