I hope that you found this film powerful and evocative. I know that it is not an easy film to watch, but I think it’s a wonderful case study of some of the dynamics of leading change. I also think there are things we can learn from it, for better and worse, about designing learning amidst controversy.

Group 4, reporting in.
Assessment.

Most of Vella’s 12 principles applied to the video, but we did not talk about all of them. 

The group in the video spent a lot of time assessing the needs; their conclusions were based on the fact that there were black people living very close to the church, yet church embers had no interactions with them

They also spent a large amount of time discussing what the people needed to learn (and how they were going to go about doing that).  The pastor seemed very empathetic and open to hearing other’s perspectives regarding what was necessary. 

Most people agreed that the groups meetings outside of the church seemed like a safe place, but that the congregation didn’t seem to think that they were in a safe space.  For some, this was expressed in the fact that many simply left and didn’t feel comfortable dialoguing.  Small groups seem to make people feel safer.   People’s remorse when the pastor resigned also demonstrated that they obviously did not feel safe standing up for him. 
Praxis, or action with reflection, was inherent in the pastor’s way of being.  It seemed as if he was trying to teach his people to move into this way of thinking and being, but they were resistant. 
Moving from “small to big, slow to fast, etc” was also one of Vella’s assessments.  The pastor seemed to think that he was doing this, but perhaps there were smaller steps that could’ve been taken. 

In thinking of how to proceed, I thought the ELCA’s conversation around homosexuality.  I appreciated that church has really stressed healthy dialogue in congregations, and have felt like many churches have done a really good job with that.  In this particular situation, large group conversations might get heated very quickly, so perhaps one-on-one or small group conversations would be a good place to start. 

-Julie B, Group 4

Rituals have a strong place in the life of a church and in the lives of people.  Rituals have been followed from the beginning of time.  Rituals help to give external behaviors to express internal commitments and without ritual some may fail to remember and draw strength from faith.  Some rituals help to reinforce a common belief or behavior.  Through the film documentary on A Time for Burning, there were many rituals that came to our minds. 

Some of these included: small group discussions, barber shop discussions, including children and youth in church conversations, prayer, communion, dress for worship, singing in church (and again, the dress – choir robes), casual meetings, family gathered at the table, birthday cakes, school class outings, shaking hands and committee meetings.

When thinking about some of the rituals that were portrayed through the film it is important to reflect upon the agreement that lies within the value of the ritual.  When we partake in a ritual we should truly think about what significance is held within the ritual and whether or not we agree with what is being said through the ritual.  For example, the purpose of communion brought this to light – communion is not simply receiving the promises of God, but we also affirm that we are the Body of Christ and that everyone holds equal unity within the Body of Christ.  When we come to the table to receive the body and blood of Christ we should keep this in mind and not simply go through the motions of the ritual.  The film brought a few questions of the ritual of communion and whether or not “participants” in that particular ritual internally agree with the meaning held within the ritual. 

This film also highlighted some of the tension that still exists and is present in the church today.  One example that was brought to light was what is currently going on with the ELCA in regard to sexuality.  Sometimes rituals are so engrained into the life of an organization, church, community or individual that things can be difficult to change.  Also, when thinking of the current stand of the ELCA and how congregations are dealing with it there were a few similarities to the film.  

In the film documentary, we questioned and wondered about the formation of small groups and the organization of some of the meetings that took place.  How do we ritually decide who takes place in small groups and who does not?  Also, some of the “casual meetings” which typically take place outside of the “scheduled meeting” discuss some important issues and reveal deep feelings – again, how do we select who hears this information and how it is shared?  Often instead of explaining what happened why try and convince others’ on the “other side” that “our side” is right.  Are there ways that some rituals are reflected upon so that when important issues arise they can be handled in an effective manner rather than simply following what has typically taken place?

When we viewed this film with a ritual lens, it was surprising how many rituals were brought to the forefront.  Rituals are weaved in and out of our lives and often we do not realize a ritual when it takes place, nor do we know the importance and significance behind all of the rituals present in our lives.  I think an interesting point of discussion was understanding the significance of the ritual and thinking about whether or not it matches with internal beliefs of the individual.

This week our group reflected on the Bible cluster questions, which asked us to examine the Bible’s presence in the situation, what other texts would relate to the situation, as well as the learning goals especially in relation what the people were learning about God.

All of us agreed that the Bible is present in the film, but not in chapter and verse form. Since the whole movie takes place in and around church means the Bible has a huge role, even implicitly. There were many references to Jesus and his disciples, but there were no specific references to text or stories from the Bible.

 When our group reflected on what texts and stories might relate to this situation we thought of several.

• Exodus 22:21 says: “Do not mistreat an alien or oppress him, because you were aliens in the land of Egypt.”
•  Leviticus 19:34 which states that “The alien living with you must be treated as one of your native-born. Love him as yourself, for you were aliens in Egypt. I am the Lord your God.”
• Matthew 10:34: “Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword.”
• John 4:1-42: The story of the Samaritan woman at the well who as seen as an “other.”
• Acts 10: The story of Cornelius and how Peter sees the vision of animals in a sheet, and God says that what God has sanctified one must not call common.

 As for learning about God, we didn’t really feel that what God wants or who He is, was ever really focused on. The biggest learning that occurred was by the one social ministry chair person and that learning was not due to formal education, but actually experiencing first hand having a discussion with someone who was of a different race.

 The learning goals should focus on a discussion of how to show love as a Christian and also talk about change in the church. When teaching on these learning goals we thought the devotional, theological and historical methods would work together best to create a study around these issues.

 Outside of the Bible cluster questions we also discussed how we thought that the Pastor definitely represents a boundary leader in that he is trying to integrate faith and the civil rights movement together, where other churches put that as “out there” impacting only schools and businesses. If we were in this church, we thought about holding discussions with members to outline what we believe to be true when it comes to worshipping God, studying His word and sharing His love and then examine those beliefs to determine if they are man made or aligned with God’s Word.

History

Stories of main characters:

Reverend William Youngdahl moved from an integrated Lutheran church in New Jersey to an all-white congregation, Augstana, in Omaha, Nebraska. He is more progressive than his congregation and wants to try a very limited attempt at social integration of blacks from the black Hope Lutheran Church in the same city. After being their pastor only a year, he is trying to lead his congregation more quickly than he has prepared them or heard them out. One group member stated–what was frustrating to watch was how “his great idea” was handed down in a Palmer-Model-1 way (subject to expert to amateurs) to the council, rather than watching the ground for the seeds that had germinated and allowing the people of the congregation to own it, or better yet, demand it.

Ernie Chambers, is a black nationalist barber on the black side of town who interacts with the white Christians and challenges their motives for integration as white condescension. He is very good at dialoguing and challenging assumptions.

Church council member Ray Christiansen experiences conversion from his separatist attitude and fear of dividing the congregation and becomes an advocate for civil rights. He sees the urgent need for racial integration and tries to move the other council members toward social justice.

The stories are of white Americans who are not comfortable with black Americans because of the history that they grew up with- thinking that black Americans are different or inferior. We also have black Americans who have bad feelings toward white Americans due to a history of slavery, inequality, and poor treatment. We have white and black church leaders who want to see past the history that is influencing these groups and look toward the future focusing on the gospel of Jesus and the command to love our neighbors. The history within individual persons, families, the church as a whole, and the history of the country and it’s political and moral issues are all connected to this context. The stories do conflict, in fact that is what the video is largely about.

Learning that emerges from the history could be negative if we continued to allow the history to teach inequality and racism. The educational leader would want to challenge the learning based on this history as the religious leaders in the film are trying to do.

This video struck one group member with the tension between Pastor Bill’s understanding of his prophetic role and his place as one among a larger community in which God is also moving. This is a gathered people of God, no less than their counterparts at Calvin Presbyterian, despite their dehumanizing characterization at one point as being certain “types of people.” Perhaps Augustana Lutheran needed the crisis to move forward, or perhaps there may have been alternate approaches to leadership.

This video could help teachers to reveal Jesus Christ’s teaching to love our neighbors as ourselves. It could intend to foster conversion in the hearts of those who are racist or prejudice. Religious experience is shown as being understood as something that is exclusive and unaccepting of differences. The goal of this curriculum could be to show a group or individual it’s incorrect or negative ways. This video is educating toward a view of society as equal and integrated.

Most important learning goals- love your neighbor as yourself…all are our neighbors…be hospitable and welcoming to all. one of the most important things that we should be doing as leaders of the Church is to try to bridge gaps, bridge hurts and discriminations.

Our group discussed the statement of Christ’s about removing the logs from our own eyes before removing everyone elses. Christianity has many logs. The first is against one another. Where in the film we witnessed racial discriminations, typical of the time period, within the church we also noticed that today we are dealing with denominational discriminations. This denominal discriminations causes such a disconnect for people that Christianity comes off as hypocritcal. We need to remember that we are all Christians and that as Christians we are called by Christ to love one another. History has already taught us that discrimination, hate, and distance only harms us. We need to learn from history or we are doomed to repeat it.

Teacher & Learner

Pastor Bill is in both the teacher and the learner position throughout the program.

Teachers- council members, African American Preachers, high school students, Ernie Chambers (barber), mayor

Learners- council members, pastors, family members, congregation members

This question of teachers and learners was interesting to think about in regards to the movie.  As listed above there are certainly those who are teaching in a direct way, but there are also teachers in indirect ways.  I thought about what those parents were teaching their kids, by the way they reacted to what the pastor was trying to do, also what the community was learning from the congregations involved in the situation.

Explicit Learning- Pastor directly teaching to congregation and council members. Mayor’s discussion with church leaders. Pastor teaching on justice and mercy. Ernie Chambers  teaching throughout through discussion about racial disparity.  High school students engaged in congregations and conversations.

Implicit Learning- Pastor’s reaction to Ernie Chambers (sweating and walking out); Crossracial exchange of students leading to families staying away from church taught that Augustana was racist church; discussion of property decline within church setting taught that economics are more important than justice; The discussion in the barber shop lead to learning by young patrons about racism and status of African Americans; Prayer at table teaching God’s importance within the family; Pastor being forced to resign taught that church was not interested in reconciliation; Council members focusing on timing issues – “not the right time”, “we need to be strategic” – really teaches that they don’t want to make any “waves” and definitely are not interested in creating controversy.

Unintentional Learning- All White church teaches African Americans are not welcome; All male councils teach women are not capable of making important decisions within the church; Pastors and church members not speaking out against racism makes them part of the racial problem.  The Church not willing to take a stand because they are afraid of the reaction.

Type of Learner- Nurturing Faith Booklet

Most of the learners in this situation would be from the adults and more specifically the middle adults. These adults are: profoundly aware of life changes, often reassessing earlier tasks, need to make positive contributions to younger generations, often reevaluates self-identity issues, can move beyond cultural stereotypes, can be a caring mentor for others.

What To Do Next:

I would suggest a multiracial prayer meeting and continued small group meetings. Even though the church has lost their pastor, they still have a congregation who are the “ministers” who could take up the interracial meetings and begin the dialogue necessary with the neighboring church.  I would also suggest the church spend more time prayerfully considering their way forward – we didn’t see prayer about this issue in the video.

Group 3 (mjb)