{"id":36244,"date":"2018-01-02T11:50:15","date_gmt":"2018-01-02T16:50:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/?p=36244"},"modified":"2018-01-15T16:51:42","modified_gmt":"2018-01-15T21:51:42","slug":"sharon-washington-risher-speak-part-emus-week-mlk-remembrance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2018\/sharon-washington-risher-speak-part-emus-week-mlk-remembrance\/","title":{"rendered":"Sharon Washington Risher to speak as part of EMU’s week of MLK remembrance"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Rev. Sharon Washington Risher knows hate: Among the nine black worshippers killed by a white supremacist at a prayer meeting at Mother Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina, on June 17, 2015, were her mother, two cousins and a childhood friend.<\/p>\n

Risher will speak during a Martin Luther King, Jr. Day chapel service as part of Eastern Mennonite University\u2019s \u201cMLK Week\u201d observance of the national holiday. The service is at 10:15 a.m. on Monday, Jan. 15 in Lehman Auditorium, and is free and open to the public.<\/p>\n

A chaplain and trauma specialist at Parkland Hospital of Dallas, Texas, and former associate pastor, Risher has advocated with the anti-gun lobby Everytown for Gun Safety. She has been featured by CNN<\/a>, Time Magazine<\/em><\/a>, and elsewhere. The Washington Post<\/em><\/a> reported that Risher told the murderer before he received his death sentence, \u201cI still don\u2019t want you to die. I want you to be able to sit in that cell. You have made [your victims] martyrs. You have made them the face of America. You have given me a voice and a platform I never would have had to crusade for them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hearing Risher\u2019s story and \u201cseeing how she shows compassion even when it\u2019s easier to hate\u201d is a perfect fit for honoring King, said Tae Dews, Black Student Union co-president and MLK Week committee member. \u201cA lot of hate was shown towards him, but he continuously showed compassion. That is just something that we can do as human beings, and as Christians it\u2019s something that we can work on.\u201d<\/p>\n

Risher will also speak in the Sunday morning service at the Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church at 11 a.m. on Jan. 14.<\/p>\n

MLK Week spans Jan. 10-15 at EMU, with a variety of activities culminating with the national holiday and chapel observance on Monday. Scroll down for specific dates, times and locations of events, including a religious diversity workshop, mix-it-up lunch, film showing, chapel reading circles of MLK speeches and sermons, a service project, a barbershop talk and Harriet Tubman Museum visit, and more.<\/p>\n

Read “This I Believe” statements from EMU students in Professor Melody Pannell’s fall 2017 race and gender class.<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

An appeal to engage: \u201cIt still continues\u201d<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The week\u2019s events will appeal to people differently, said Celeste Thomas<\/a>, faculty advisor to BSU and director of multicultural services. \u201cSome of us are sit-back-and-watchers, others of us dive in the deep end first, and others put a toe in and decide. I hope that people challenge themselves beyond whatever seat they sit in, and open their minds to ways of thinking that they have not before.\u201d<\/p>\n

The week\u2019s theme \u201cJust Stand\u201d is based on a quote from King\u2019s 1963 Strength to Love<\/em> book of homilies: \u201cThe ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a big quote,\u201d Thomas said. \u201cIt\u2019s very fitting for where we are and what\u2019s happening in the world today. We have to leave our comfort zones in order for things to change.\u201d The question, she said, is \u201cHow can people be present in the movement today? Because the work must continue, to ensure that all people feel safe in this country.\u201d<\/p>\n

The week in brief<\/strong><\/h3>\n