It was a beautiful day in Shalom, Oregon, on January 16. It wasn’t just the clear, sunny day that made it beautiful. It was the way hundreds of people joyfully (not angrily) gathered to celebrate Rev. Martin Luther King in a city and a state where, for many decades, it would have been against the law for him to reside. After marching from Wallace Marine Park across the Marion Street Bridge, the cheerful Salem/Keizer throng gathered in front of the state Capitol to pray, sing hymns and recite moving passages from famous King speeches and sermons.
Police Chief Jerry Moore, Supt. Christy Perry and City Council candidate Gregg Peterson joined pastors Marilyn Williams, Ronnie Brooks, Levi Harris and Michael Weaver to bring a moving message of reconciliation, partnership and relationship to a diverse and believing crowd.
Thanks to the leadership of Salem’s African-American pastors, who meet monthly to pray, we have a close-and-coordinated network of collaboration between area churches, law enforcement, schools, elected officials, businesses and neighborhoods. It’s called ‘Bridging the Gap’ and it’s a positive local outcome that has emerged in contrast to the negative rhetoric and incidents nationwide since the Ferguson shooting in 2014. Bridging the Gap serves as a national template for how communities can come together—not split apart—in times of tragedy and civic frustration. To build peace and trust … not fear and strife.
Reconciliation is not a ‘political term.’ It’s a spiritual one. The very history of humankind is God’s redemptive opus for restored relationship … for (true) peace and justice … for restored Shalom.
Left or right, conservative or progressive, believer or non-believer, sacred or secular—we all are made to partake in this beautiful journey of discovery that transcends mere politics. If we are willing, Salem-Keizer can be the healthiest community in Oregon, truly the City of Shalom.
Linking hearts and arms—
