“Lord, forgive me for how I have not loved your bride,” Nesha Evans, the Associate Dean of Student Life, prayed as she closed out the first Conversations about Culture and Race held in the chapel. In this prayer, she encapsulated the heart of this new bi-weekly event put on by the Multicultural Program, to pursue unity within the Body of Christ where there has been pain, strife, and misunderstanding.
Held every other Wednesday night, these conversations are about celebrating, knowing and unifying the Body of Christ by discussing culture, ethnicity, race and experiences. Evans recognized the need and desire for a place where students, faculty, and staff could participate in these difficult but necessary conversations.
The conversations involve a few “conversationists,” as Evans calls them, members of the faculty, staff and student body who can speak to a specific issue. A discussion facilitator poses questions to the conversationists and opens the floor to members of the audience with one ground rule: anyone can ask anything without fear of being scrutinized by the conversationists.
The goal is to have challenging conversations, juxtaposing questions and experiences in an effort to know God’s truth and the beauty of His diverse creation. Evans recognizes that this will be difficult and painful, and out of a spirit of love, is not recording these meetings so that everyone will feel free and safe in this space.
Evans said, “Conversations about culture and race are really important because of Christ’s call and prayer for our unity. Unity doesn’t just involve a recognition that we are all Christians, but also recognizing that God created us differently too, and even if we don’t understand the reason, it's not something we should turn away from.”
She noted how these discussions will help us to stop making assumptions about one another, and to genuinely get to know our brothers and sisters in Christ. “This is part of being in community,” she said.
“There is so much to learn,” she continued, emphasizing her desire for students to engage in the discussion. “Hearing from someone who’s experienced it, and then being able to ask questions, being able to comment about your own experience, and how [that] juxtapose[s] with what they’ve experienced, and everyone comes out of it learning something about themselves.”
While she wants as many students as possible to participate, she recognizes that not everyone will be able to attend on Wednesday nights due to COVID-19 restrictions. However, she hopes that these Wednesday night conversations will overflow into other conversations throughout the campus.
Evans emphasized that these are important discussions that need to take place, but for so long there has not been a space to grapple with these complex issues. In light of the events this summer, she noted that it is imperative that the Body of Christ engage with the pain and then pursue the unity Christ has called his Church to. The Conversations about Culture and Race are a step in the right direction, providing the space for members of the Covenant Community to flesh out these issues and truly begin to know one another. It’s a unique opportunity for the unification of the Covenant community.
If anyone has any questions, concerns, or comments, Evans would love for you to email, call or stop by her office anytime.