Sue Lani Madsen: Civil righteousness seeks reconciliation through Christianity

An event with roots in Ferguson, Missouri, came to Spokane Saturday, Aug. 8, at 6:01 p.m., at the corner of Martin Luther King Jr. Way and Division Street. It received little attention in the largely white and unchurched Pacific Northwest.

“Pray on MLK Way” was a 2020 project of Civil Righteousness Inc., a Ferguson based nonprofit “dedicated to racial reconciliation and restorative justice through spiritual, cultural and economic renewal.” Events were held in all 50 states and nine countries, according to event organizers.

Ellie Rae Hardy, youth pastor for Spokane’s Victory Faith Church, organized the local event. She first heard the founder of Civil Righteousness, Jonathan Tremain Thomas, speak at her church three years ago. It was the first time she’d heard someone talk about the realities of racism without politicizing the issues. Thomas has been described as a “chaos chaser” who sees his mission field as bringing reconciliation and revival in the face of the racial unrest roiling American cities.

Thomas is Black, Hardy is not. She wrestled with taking the lead in organizing the Pray on MLK event, fearing it would look like she was playing into the white savior stereotype. But three weeks ago, she and her husband had lunch with Thomas in Ferguson and it was life-changing. Thomas convinced her the goal was unity and it didn’t matter who was leading it.

“We are all sons and daughters of God petitioning heaven for His true justice and mercy on all of us,” Hardy said.

There is significance to the date, time and location. Chicago named the first street after the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on Aug. 8, 1968. His assassin pulled the trigger in April of the same year at 6:01 p.m. Streets named after the martyred leader of the civil rights movement are ubiquitous, making it an easy focus for national and international organizing.

Thomas describes civil righteousness as the duty of Christ’s followers.

“The historic civil rights movement was led by the church,” said Thomas in a phone interview. “We have been given the ministry of reconciliation. We can’t just stand back and watch, we need to lead the conversation.”

His goal is for this year’s Pray the MLK to be the first step in galvanizing a civil righteousness movement of peaceful leadership seeking justice in hope instead of anger.

Sixty-three participants lined Spokane’s MLK Way for an hour of silent intercessory prayer, followed by an hour of worship joined by a few others on the grassy knoll at the entry to the U District. Some participants held signs, but this wasn’t about condemning or praising any political party. According to Hardy, it was also not about either countering or aligning with the BLM movement, but rather standing together as the church to declare peace and build bridges across racial divisions.

It was more than the perfunctory moment of silence experienced at public events.

“When we practice intercessory prayer we are unapologetically Christian, following biblical principles to operate as bridge builders under delegated authority,” said Pastor Rodney McAuley, community activist and Hardy’s childhood mentor growing up in the church.

Watching McAuley and his wife Leslie “around people that don’t look like them but dedicated to their city as bridge builders” was an inspiration for Hardy.

Building bridges begins with a sense of “sonder,” a neologism containing the concepts of sounding the depth of water and wonder. The inventor defines “sonder” as “the realization that each random passerby is living a life as vivid and complex as your own.”

A sense of sonder makes it possible to celebrate ethnic and cultural differences while also creating spaces to stand together. Hardy and McAuley embraced the concept of sonder as a way to resist the polarization of current protest and counter-protest movements.

Hardy was grateful to see different churches and organizations represented at Pray on MLK because “if we want racial unity and reconciliation, people need to have a heart for unity across differences of all kinds.”

Thomas described culture as having lost the ability “to stay in the room much less stay at the table when or if they say something we may not agree with. We’ve lost our ability to reason together. If we hear one thing that contradicts our perspective, we tune out. In Christianity, it’s the communion table, we have to come together at the table and everyone is invited. Come to the table and stay at the table.”