Lessons from Civil Rights Movement
That’s the heartbeat of the School of Divinity at Gardner-Webb University! In the truest sense of the word “theological,” we exist to equip, nurture, encourage, and support men and women for their very best service in the Kingdom of God.
So, as always, thanks for your continued support as we co-labor together for God’s present yet coming Kingdom
-Dr. Robert Canoy
BOILING SPRINGS, N.C.—Dr. Frank Bonner,
president of Gardner-Webb University, encourages faculty to take extra steps
in the classroom to ensure that students apply their education to life. In
the course of her tenure at The School of Divinity at Gardner-Webb, Dr.
Sheri Adams, professor of theology and Christian history, has challenged
students to learn from history how to serve our world today and in the
future. Adams recognizes that the events of the Civil Rights Movement are
as vitally important to the history of the Church as they are to the history
of America. “We, black and white people, still move in two different
worlds. Even as Christians, we have not bridged the gap very well,” said
Adams. In order to encourage divinity students to attempt to bridge the
gap, Adams led a group as they walked in the footprints of the great leaders
of the Civil Rights Movement. The students traveled through Atlanta (GA),
Birmingham, Selma and Montgomery (AL), visiting many of the historic sites
of the movement.
The Sixteenth Street Baptist Church in
Birmingham was a meeting place for civil rights leaders and was the site of
the September 15, 1963 bombing that killed four young girls. Remembering
the four pictures of the children on the front page of her hometown
newspaper in Louisiana, Adams told her students that this event marked a
turning point in her own perception of civil rights. The tragedy at
Sixteenth Street Baptist Church was evidence that some people could go too
far in their hatred. “It was a moment of truth when some people protested,
you just can’t kill kids over this,” Adams said. The students
listened as one follower of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., who was present at
the Atlanta church in which King was preaching on September 15, 1963, shared
his memory of the tragedy. He said when the news about the bombing
reached the church in Atlanta, King left the pulpit, took the call himself
and returned to the platform with tears streaming down his cheeks as he
cried out to God in anguish.
Like King, the divinity students experienced great emotion when visiting some of the sites. The stories in the textbooks about the sacrifices of the great leaders became a reality as the students walked along the same streets and occupied the seats and pews in which the leaders once sat. In August of 1955, Emmett Till, a fourteen year old from Chicago, was horribly beaten to death in Mississippi. Adams told the students that Till’s mother insisted that his casket be open at the funeral for all to see and for photos to be taken. She wanted the world to see what “they” had done to her young son. Adams saw the photo of Till’s battered face for the first time in one of the museums the group visited. “I teared up many times on the trip, but cried only once…it was worse than I had imagined,” said Adams. The students learned that many historians point to the picture of Till in his casket as the straw that broke the camel’s back for black people in America.
Of all the stories the group heard along
their journey, Adams described the events in which children were unjustly
killed in the movement as the most moving for her. Children were victims of
the brutal violence that accompanied change, and thus, they joined King and
others as great leaders of the Civil Rights Movement. People of all ages,
races and ethnicities can find a common thread that ties them to the
historic events of the movement.
As they traveled, the group of students sat and listened to each other, as different students shared his/her history, including what had happen in life to shape one’s beliefs and values. Adams believes in the importance of meeting people as individuals and identifying the common threads of one another’s lives. “This is how we bridge the gap,” said Adams. On the last night of the trip, the students visited a Christian coffee house in Montgomery. Filled with emotion and a real desire to bridge the gap in the future, one by one, the students were moved to share openly in a public place. Some students shared personal poetry they crafted out of the experiences of the week on the spur of the moment. Others sang songs or talked about the great leaders they long to follow. The group was delighted the next morning to discover a reporter had covered the events of the coffee shop the night before and the story was on the front page of the Montgomery paper.
The
Civil Rights Movement is not just something of the past. The divinity
students aim to make the movement part of the present and future by
remembering and honoring the sacrifices of the great leaders that went
before us. “The group wants to honor the priceless heritage we all
have in this history,” said Adams. In an effort to do so, the students
led a special chapel service on Monday, January 15, 2007 at Dover Chapel on
the campus of Gardner-Webb University. The service was built upon
King’s “I Have a Dream” speech. The themes of the speech were the
threads that wove the service together. The service was concluded with
a simulation experience like one the students had on the trip.
The group spent their week at Hopeview Baptist Church - a building that found itself under fourteen feet of water during the storm. Though it has been eighteen months since Katrina unleashed herself on the Gulf coast, remnants of her fury remain throughout the communities as if it were only days since the waters subsided. The entire area seems to be frozen in time, constantly reminding the residents of the horrors that they faced - that they still face today.
This crew's job was to aid in the reconstruction of the church where they stayed. Hopeview Baptist has been purposed to be renovated into a housing facility for future groups to stay as they come from various parts of this country to volunteer. While in Chalmette, Gardner-Webb's team came together and made their mark, not only on the church, but on the hearts and minds of the local residents and other volunteers with whom we stayed. In four days time, the crew from GWU had installed over 1000 square feet of flooring, insulated and sheet-rocked the walls and ceilings of 9 rooms, hauled away thousands of pounds of debris and rubble, stocked rooms full of supplies, and still found the time to visit within the community and aide some of the local residents in clearing out their damaged property that was too big to move without help.
The amount of work accomplished by these thirteen men and women is astounding. From my past experience in projects like this, an average crew would take close to two weeks to finish what these students did in just four days. I emphasize this, not as a praise to the volunteers, but rather as a testament to the uncontainable, multiplying power of God. It was only by His mighty power and gracious hand that these great works were accomplished.
Perhaps one of the most meaningful symbols of this trip could be found as we visited the Ninth Ward - a portion of the city struck with some of the most direct and devastating damage from the flood. As we drove around the streets there we saw automobiles carried blocks from where they once stood, buildings literally upturned on their side, and entire streets where houses once stood, now empty with nothing more than the concrete steps and wrought iron hand rails that once led into the front doors of their owners' homes. In the midst of all of this massive, chaotic destruction was a small church with a marquee that still stood out front and remarkably still held the letters that read, "To God be the Glory."
We thirteen stand in awe of our God's amazing glory and unsurpassed love as we are blessed and grateful for having the opportunity to see with our own eyes just how mightily his resurrection can take place, even by the hands of a few humble and willing servants. We thank you all for your prayers and support.
In Christ...
-Brian Cochrum
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Ministerial Referral
As you pray and search for the best minister to meet the needs of your
congregation, I hope you will consider our students and alumni. I invite
you to register your church on
The Bulldog Network. You may post
opportunities for Christian ministry, and/or view resumés through the
network.
Thank you for your interest in our students and alumni, and for joining us
in the great mission of Christian ministry. If you have any questions or
concerns, please feel free to contact me. I would be pleased to hear from
you.
Blessings,
Deborah D. Gaddis
Director, Ministerial Referral Services
(704) 406-3018
dgaddis@gardner-webb.edu
Current Postings
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SEARCH COMMITTEES
DIVINITY STUDENTS/ALUMNI
Brandi DeBusk, Youth and Children Minister, FBC Forest City
Chuck Powell, Musician, Christ Covenant Church North, Polkville
Daryl Sykes, Interim Pastor, Freedom Baptist Church, Locust
Jameson Williams, Minister of Music, Pleasant Hill Baptist Church
Katie Vance, Interim Youth Minister, Adaville Baptist, Spindale
Died March 30, 2007
RUTHERFORDTON — Mrs. Patsy Hill Dickens, 58, of Rutherfordton, died at home Friday, March 30, 2007, after a valiant fight against ovarian cancer. She was a native of Sterling, Okla., where she graduated from high school. She graduated Summa cum laude from Ouachita Baptist University, where she was named the Outstanding Senior Woman of her class. She also attended Southern Methodist University where she received her master’s degree. Upon receiving her MFA as a Speech and Language Pathologist, her ministry as a college professor spanned more than 30 years at Ouachita Baptist University, Texas Christian University and Gardner-Webb University. For many years she worked with stroke patients and their families in Hot Springs, Ark., and in Fort Worth, Texas.
Loved for her sense of humor, her kindness, her Christian faith and her commitment to excellence, she challenged students to personal, academic and spiritual growth. In addition to her “routine” responsibilities, Patsy was also a partner of Membercare, a resource group providing care for missionaries in Southeast Asia. Patsy was a member of the Oklahoma All-State basketball team in 1966, and for several years she held records in Oklahoma girls’ high school basketball. She was twice named an “All-American” athlete in collegiate basketball, and was captain of the Pan American women’s basketball team in 1970.
Patsy’s joy was her family and friends. She will be dearly missed by her husband, Doug, her daughters, Lori Peak and Kristen Dickens, and her granddaughter, Kayleigh Peak. She is survived by her parents, Edward and Ida Hill of Lawton, Okla.; two sisters Karen Sherry of Oklahoma City, and Nancy Warden and her husband, Rick, of Chickasha, Okla.; nephew, Matt Sherry and niece, Jeanna Smith and her husband, Todd. She leaves behind many friends who love her and are blessed by her friendship.
Patsy Dickens was a member of Pleasant Hill Baptist
Church in Shelby.
Memorial Service: Sunday at 6 p.m. at Pleasant Hill Baptist Church, Shelby
Officiated by: Dr. Stephen Shoemaker
Memorials: Kayleigh Peak Scholarship fund at Gardner-Webb University in
Boiling Springs, N.C.
Funeral Home: Cecil M. Burton Funeral Home
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