Where do we go from here? 2024 SJ23 Service Trip Reflection

Where do we go from here?
by Carol Michelini

On Thursday, July 25, three vans carrying 17 parishioners and friends of St. John XXIII parish left for an 11-day pilgrimage to learn about the Civil Rights Movement and ongoing systems of injustice and inequality. We traveled through Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia and Alabama visiting historic sites and hearing first hand from those who participated in the movement and those who continue today to work with people on the margins. The theme “Many Rivers to Cross to Justice and Equality” emblazoned on the back of our tee shirts said it all.

Rivers served as gateways through which the inhuman flow of enslaved people fueled the economy of our country. Ironically rivers also provided a route for those enslaved people to seek freedom. On our trip we crisscrossed many rivers: the Ohio, the Alabama, the Tennessee, and the Cumberland. As we moved from state to state, stopping at historic sites like the National Center for Civil and Human Rights in Atlanta, the Rosa Parks Museum in Montgomery, the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, and the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, we were awed by the personal courage of those who were on the front lines seeking voting rights and fighting Jim Crow laws and domestic terror.

It’s easy to think that the civil rights movement had its heyday in the 50s and 60s and while many important issues like voting rights and desegregation were in the spotlight, there is still work to be done. As Dr. Avis Williams said, “We are blessed to be doing ministry, doing what the Lord has called us to do: to serve our brothers and sisters.”

​Our journey was at times both overwhelming and challenging; energizing and tiring yet we experienced the joy and power of the people in the communities we visited. We look forward to sharing more about it all during a presentation later this year. Stay tuned.

Click to enlarge

Click to enlarge