Reverend Jennifer Nordstrom

I yearn deeply for something I cannot fully describe because it has not been born yet. The Beloved Community is the ideal for which I long, the sustainable community of care the universe is calling itself into, that is whispered here today in our dreams of it.

Although I do not know every detail of this world-to-be, I do know she is populated by all the children under the sun, who live together in dignity, justice, and freedom. I know she is free from violence, cruelty, and oppression, and that her waters, air, and earth are understood as sacred.

While I can feel the pull towards this world waiting on the horizon, I do not have a map for how to get there. The world of tomorrow is born in the dream seeds of today, and I do know the first steps involve intentional anti-racism work, anti-oppression work, and efforts to create strong, accountable, multicultural relationships today.

Our work to build the Beloved Community happens on many levels:

• Within: it happens internally, when we look within to investigate how we have internalized oppressive frameworks, let them go, and replace them with counter-oppressive frameworks; (see the examples of the Soul Matters Small Group Ministry)

• Among: it happens in our religious community, among our gathered people, when we recognize how our communities have embedded oppressive frameworks, let them go, and replace them with counter-oppressive frameworks; (see the examples of Beloved Conversations, Who Are Our Neighbors, and the Chicago Area Liberal Ministers' team for racial justice)

• Beyond: it happens beyond the walls of our religious community, when we go out into the world and work with our neighbors and marginalized communities to confront the oppressive frameworks and systems, and replace them with counter-oppressive frameworks and systems. (See Community Engagement and Public Witness)

Thus, the work to build the Beloved Community comes in a variety of forms: spiritual practice; faith formation; religious education; leadership development; organizational development; worship; governance; denominational work; community building; community outreach; and public witness. To build the Beloved Community, we must begin today, inciting transformation within, among, and beyond ourselves. There is much work to do. May we do it hand in hand.