{"id":15747,"date":"2013-01-22T11:25:53","date_gmt":"2013-01-22T16:25:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/?p=15747"},"modified":"2013-02-12T11:28:53","modified_gmt":"2013-02-12T16:28:53","slug":"emu-looks-beyond-charity-in-observing-mlk-day","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2013\/emu-looks-beyond-charity-in-observing-mlk-day\/","title":{"rendered":"EMU Looks Beyond Charity in Observing MLK Day"},"content":{"rendered":"

Service and learning took center stage for Eastern Mennonite University\u2019s expanded observance of Martin Luther King Day on Jan. 21<\/a>. Some 200 students, faculty and staff participated in service opportunities and cultural learning tours. <\/p>\n

Photo gallery<\/strong><\/a> of day’s events (please be patient while it loads).<\/p>\n

A tour of historic Newtown in northeastern Harrisonburg introduced participants to the city\u2019s original African-American community that was first settled by newly freed slaves. The tour included stops at the segregation-era Lucy Simms School, Bethel AME (African Methodist Episcopal) Church, Newtown Cemetery and Our Community Place<\/a>, an anti-poverty organization.<\/p>\n

Students packed a black-owned barbershop in downtown Harrisonburg to interact with longtime barber Tyrone Sprague, who likes to mix his haircuts with lively conversation. Several students got a haircut.<\/p>\n

Other learning tours took students to Harrisonburg-Rockingham Free Clinic<\/a>, Blue Ridge Legal Services<\/a>, and the Center for Marriage and Family Counseling<\/a>.<\/p>\n

A group of students cleaned a stretch of Black\u2019s Run, a stream that starts near the EMU campus and winds through Harrisonburg. They concentrated on the stretch through the northeast neighborhood.<\/p>\n

Other students helped prepare the weekly \u201ccommunity meal for everyone\u201d at Our Community Place. One of the organization\u2019s many ministries is a Monday meal for anyone who comes\u2014homeless as well as non-homeless people. There is no distinction between the servers and those being served.<\/p>\n

The observance of King Day, a national holiday named for the legendary civil rights leader who was assassinated in 1968, coincided this year with President Barack Obama\u2019s second inauguration. Obama, by personal example, has popularized service projects on King Day.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe made an intentional decision to broaden the ownership of Martin Luther King Day from the multicultural services office to the entire university and the greater EMU neighborhood,\u201d said Brian Martin Burkholder<\/a>, director of campus ministries<\/a>, \u201cbecause the legacy of Dr. King connects widely with the mission and vision of EMU as a learning community.\u201d<\/p>\n

Collaborating in the planning were EMU staff and student organizations as well as the Northeast Neighborhood Association and United Way of Harrisonburg-Rockingham County<\/a>.<\/p>\n

EMU\u2019s keynote speaker this year was Shane Claiborne<\/a>, a nationally known Christian activist and best-selling author from Philadelphia. He spoke in chapel and led two forums, all three of which drew large crowds.<\/p>\n

\u201cDr. King kept believing his dream of equality even when it was unpopular and when it got him jailed,\u201d said Claiborne. \u201cAnd now we must build the better world that Jesus dreamed of.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBuilding that better world is much more than giving charity and performing service,\u201d he said. \u201cIt is working for justice in a world where the rich continue to get richer while the poor are getting poorer.\u201d<\/p>\n

In their fight for justice, though, Claiborne warned his listeners not to fight the people who disagree with them. Jesus interacted positively with all kinds of people on all sides of the issues, he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe revolution of God sets the poor and oppressed free while also setting the rich and powerful free,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Claiborne is a founding partner of The Simple Way<\/a>, a faith community in inner-city Philadelphia that has helped to birth and connect radical Christian communities around the world. His books include The Irresistible Revolution, Jesus for President<\/em> and Becoming the Answer to Our Prayers. <\/em>He travels extensively, speaking over 100 times a year about peacemaking, social justice and Jesus.<\/p>\n

Other King Day events at EMU:<\/p>\n