I am not going to say a whole lot about what happened last night in my city. And what happened today. And what will probably happened later this evening. But I believe that if I do not say anything regarding the issue that it will seem like it is not happening close to home, and it is not affecting all of us. Those that live downtown. Those that live further in the communities in the city. Those that live in the county, and beyond.
I know a lot of this has overflowed into the communities on all sides of the nation, but hear me say, that the whole city of St. Louis is hurting. Confused. Frustrated. Angry. Sad. It is hard for me to be able to begin to comprehend what it feels like on the other side of St. Louis' "Great Divide". But it is there, and it is more than just our city. I do not necessarily wish to make this post a political scene -- an area for conversation on who was right and who was wrong in the case. This is way bigger than that.
Matt Chandler stated a few weeks ago in one of his sermons on our beautiful, Godly design as humans that "what happened in Ferguson is the result of a people feeling as though they have been stripped of dignity...If you strip people of their God-given dignity, they will eventually act in undignified ways." I feel that we will begin to see more change happen when the conversations start :: and continue to be integrated as part of our daily interactions :: and the fires and the looting and the violence stop.
And as the sun sets tonight, please pray with my city, with the country. Because this is bigger than Ferguson. Bigger than St. Louis. And we need the prayers of the nation to start constructive conversations to stop the vicious violence. We all need a shining light.
photo credit :: hb fotographie
