{"id":30027,"date":"2016-09-27T10:09:30","date_gmt":"2016-09-27T14:09:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/?p=30027"},"modified":"2016-10-17T14:31:03","modified_gmt":"2016-10-17T18:31:03","slug":"christianity-amid-systemic-racism-oxymoron-visiting-pastor-cyneatha-millsaps-challenges-emu-community","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2016\/christianity-amid-systemic-racism-oxymoron-visiting-pastor-cyneatha-millsaps-challenges-emu-community\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Christianity amid systemic racism is an oxymoron’: Visiting pastor Cyneatha Millsaps challenges EMU community"},"content":{"rendered":"

Cyneatha Millsaps is lead pastor of Community Mennonite Church in the Chicago suburb of Markham, Illinois, and multicultural liaison\/consultant for Illinois Mennonite Conference. She\u2019s a community activist and advocate for women\u2019s and children\u2019s needs. She\u2019s an author, writing quarterly for The Mennonite<\/em>. She\u2019s an educator and trainer in the areas of domestic violence, dating violence, multiculturalism and diversity.<\/p>\n

\"20160922-cyneatha-millsaps-visits-melody-pannell-class-4-1000px\"<\/a>
Cyneatha Millsaps leads a discussion in Professor Melody Pannell’s class on race and gender. (Photo by Joaquin Sosa)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cShe\u2019s lots of things to lots of people,\u201d as Eastern Mennonite University (EMU) instructor and Restorative Justice Coordinator Jon Swartz<\/a> said, introducing Millsaps to his \u201cEthics in the Way of Jesus\u201d class this past week.<\/p>\n

Millsaps brought those varied experiences and gifts to EMU in Harrisonburg, Virginia, Sept. 19-23, serving as visiting pastor and leading important conversations around the topics of racism and unjust structures. Venues included chapel services, classes, meetings with administrators and student groups, and a late-evening \u201cQuestions After Dark\u201d residence hall discussion.<\/p>\n

During “Questions After Dark,” students were encouraged to write questions on slips of paper, which were then answered by Millsaps. \u201cThe first question drawn during our time asked her to tell a story that was dear to her heart,\u201d said Scott Eyre, residence director. \u201cThe story was raw and personal and I think it created an intimacy and honesty right away \u2026 students were captivated by her personality and honesty.\u201d<\/p>\n

Reflecting on her time on campus, Millsaps said, \u201cIt\u2019s been more than interesting to be in this space, to see the love and commitment of a university that is stretching itself, pushing itself, farther and farther.\u201d<\/p>\n

Millsaps, an alumna of Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary, continued to push EMU, too. In a chapel address Friday morning, Millsaps challenged the very title: \u201cGrounded in Christ Amid Systemic Racism.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cChristianity amid systemic racism is an oxymoron,\u201d Millsaps told a large crowd in Lehman Auditorium. She recounted some of the acts of racism that have occurred in the nation\u2019s history and then observed, \u201cAll the history of things that have happened in the U.S. happened under the watch of Christianity.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"marketing-1\"<\/a>
Mllsaps’ Sept. 23 chapel on the topic of systemic racism was followed by an all-day event in Thomas Plaza, organized by students in Professor Deanna Durham’s “Exploring Conflict and Peace” class, the Black Student Union and Peace Fellowship to allow space for grieving, sharing and concerns around domestic and global violence. (Photo by Londen Wheeler)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In her presentation to Swartz\u2019s class, she told more personal stories of ways that racism had affected family members and others close to her. In one incident, her son was arrested after being involved in a bank robbery, during which another young man she knew well was killed.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was the hardest thing I ever had to go through,\u201d Millsaps said. \u201cIt changed my entire life. Who I believed God to be was challenged.\u201d<\/p>\n

She criticized a justice system \u201cdesigned to grab them all and wrap them all up in one little package\u201d and one that only works if \u201cyou\u2019re white and have money.\u201d A good attorney was able to provide fair representation for her son, she said, but many others go through the system without that advantage. She encouraged students to consider entering the field of law and providing counsel for those who can\u2019t afford it.<\/p>\n

Millsaps also noted issues such as unfair jury selection practices, the number of children in Black communities who grow up without fathers, the punitive nature of justice in the United States and other factors.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is amazing, the things that happen and why they happen,\u201d she said. \u201cUntil you are on the margins, you don\u2019t really understand what I\u2019m speaking about.\u201d<\/p>\n

In another class, Carmen Schrock-Hurst<\/a>\u2019s \u201cCovenant and Community: Introduction to the Bible,\u201d Millsaps touched on Anabaptist values and spoke about the role the Bible plays in her life, and about people of faith who have made a difference in her life.<\/p>\n

\u201cI sensed that students appreciated her honesty and strong convictions,\u201d Schrock-Hurst said. \u201cAt a university that lacks diverse faculty, it was a gift to have Cyneatha in the classroom.\u201d<\/p>\n

At the Friday chapel, Campus Pastor Brian Martin Burkholder<\/a> praised Millsaps\u2019 \u201cwealth of experience\u201d and thanked her \u201cfor being present and listening and receiving and giving\u201d during the week.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe will be sending you with our prayers,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Cyneatha Millsaps is lead pastor of Community Mennonite Church in the Chicago suburb of Markham, Illinois, and multicultural liaison\/consultant for Illinois Mennonite Conference. She\u2019s a community activist and advocate for ... read more about ‘Christianity amid systemic racism is an oxymoron’: Visiting pastor Cyneatha Millsaps challenges EMU community<\/span><\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":30030,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[359,5589,14184,17562,14145,6287],"tags":[5809,8971,6778,6795,15122,8452],"feature":[17425,17426,17241,17422],"class_list":["post-30027","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-applied-social-sciences","category-bible-and-religion","category-campus-guests","category-digest","category-peacebuilding-and-development","category-social-work","tag-brian-martin-burkholder","tag-carmen-schrock-hurst","tag-deanna-durham","tag-diversity","tag-jonathan-swartz","tag-melody-pannell","feature-featured-seminary","feature-myemu-feature","feature-news-feature","feature-news-landing-page-main-feature"],"yoast_head":"\n'Christianity amid systemic racism is an oxymoron': Visiting pastor Cyneatha Millsaps challenges EMU community - EMU News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2016\/christianity-amid-systemic-racism-oxymoron-visiting-pastor-cyneatha-millsaps-challenges-emu-community\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"'Christianity amid systemic racism is an oxymoron': Visiting pastor Cyneatha Millsaps challenges EMU community - EMU News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Cyneatha Millsaps is lead pastor of Community Mennonite Church in the Chicago suburb of Markham, Illinois, and multicultural liaison\/consultant for Illinois Mennonite Conference. 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