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Minister
and President’s Message
AMISTAD = MISSION
June,
2003
By
Nancy S. Taylor
Hosting the Freedom Schooner Amistad for its visit to Boston Harbor
next October is a mission initiative written large! Indeed, this mission
initiative of the Massachusetts Conference of the United Church of
Christ has the potential to affect every citizen of the Commonwealth,
whether or not they ever visit the Schooner. How so?
Dialogues on Race: First, the Amistad’s visit will be accompanied
by an invitation to citizens of the Commonwealth to host and/or participate
in a “Neighborhood Dialogue on Race: A Talk Worth Having” next September
and October. A guidebook for the leader/convener of each conversation
is currently under production. These leaders will be encouraged to
convene local groups to meet five times and, following the guidebook,
engage in dialogues about race. At the fifth and final conversation,
it is suggested that participants move from talk to action. Together,
they will agree to some action they can take.
Town Meeting on Race: Participants in some of the hundreds of Dialogues
on Race will be invited to a large, televised Town Meeting, convened
by eminent scholars and recognized personalities. The conveners will
serve as panelists, each making a brief presentation, then opening
the conversation to the audience.
The Amistad Curriculum: “Voices of Freedom,” the Amistad curriculum
(originally written by Connecticut educators) is being revised to meet
Massachusetts standards. The curriculum will be available to public,
private and parochial schools, serving grades K-12. Teacher development
curriculum and teacher education workshops (one week in the summer,
three credits) are in the works.
Touring Amistad - October
14-26, Fan Pier (Boston Harbor) next to the Moakley Court House: The Schooner will be open to school groups
Monday-Friday from 9 AM. to 1 PM. In the afternoons and on weekends
it will be open to the public. Tours of this floating civil rights
classroom include interpretive panels that tell the story of the Amistad
Incident of 1839-1841, watching a brief video, and interacting with
the crew. The members of the crew tell the story of some of the Amistad’s
captives in first-person narratives. Tickets are $5 for adults and
$3 for children. We are seeking funds to underwrite the cost of buses
and tickets for students.
Dramatic Presentations: Opening ceremonies to welcome the Amistad
at the Moakley Court House will include viewing and interacting with
history, as professional actors put on dramatic presentations and re-enactments
of relevant famous historical figures.
Profiles in Color: Boston’s Museum of Afro-American History will present
a “Profile in Color of Captain William Pinkney”, the retiring master
of the Amistad. Captain Pinkney is the first and only African American
to solo circumnavigate the globe. When he pilots the Freedom Schooner
Amistad into Boston Harbor on October 14, this will be the final professional
voyage of this renowned sailor’s career.
Hearing Amistad: Boston’s own Kay George Roberts, one of the few African
American female conductors, will conduct “Hearing Amistad” a performance
of a selection of classical music by African American composers.
Old South Convenes Conversation: Old South Church, United Church of
Christ in Boston – the host of the Boston Tea Party – will convene
a large, public event on current day issues of race, justice, modern
day slavery, civil liberties and civil rights.
Collaborative Effort: The above events and programs are the collaborative
efforts of the Boston Children’s Museum, Boston’s Museum of Afro-American
History, the Boston National Historical Parks, the American Anti-Slavery
Group, and the Adams Historical Park in cooperation with Amistad’s
Boston host, the Massachusetts Conference of the United Church of Christ.
MACUCC Amistad Day - Saturday,
October 25th at the Moakley Court House: Clergy and laity from the 430 UCC congregations in Massachusetts
are invited to a special MACUCC Amistad Day. Tour the Schooner ($5
for adults, $3 for children), participate in worship, hear professional
storytellers recapture the events of the Amistad Incident, and listen
to gospel music. There will be activities for children, historical
displays, and an interactive dialogue on race.
The costs and joys of discipleship: In the United Church of Christ
Statement of Faith we testify that God has called us “into the church
to accept the cost and joy of discipleship”. Like all things that matter
deeply, there are costs associated with hosting the Freedom Schooner
Amistad: the personal risk of initiating a dialogue about race among
your neighbors; the effort of organizing your family, church, or youth
group to travel to Boston for a day of discovery. There is also a significant
financial cost to this event. Budgets for the entire event ($430,000),
as well as for the MACUCC portion of the event ($90,000), are listed
on this page. Please give generously and share in the cost and joy
of this extraordinary mission initiative. Let me repeat: this mission
project has the potential of affecting every citizen of the Commonwealth
as we are invited to talk and walk together around issues of race,
justice, civil rights and human rights…. issues that matter deeply
to our God, and, of course, to us.
Con amistad y en fe (in friendship and in faith)
Nancy S. Taylor
