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With a common goal to build the Rutherford County "community stronger together" several hundred people gathered Sunday for a worship service at R-S Central High School.
The "Stronger Together" service included nearly a dozen church congregations gathered for the purpose of promoting unity among the communities of Rutherford County.
The congregation was filled with people from different denominations, economic status, political parties, and races; but all were gathered to worship God as one people, one faith, one body in Christ.
Dr. In-Yong Lee, pastor at First United Methodist Church in Rutherfordton and coordinator of the service, said she is excited to see the growing enthusiasm and support for these efforts.
"Stronger Together services are important, because they offer a space for Black, White, and all other Christians in our area to worship and fellowship together at least twice a year," she said. "It is my hope that through these multi-racial, multi-denominational worship services, we may actively and intentionally find more and more ways to cooperate, so that we can build our community really stronger together," In-Yong Lee said.
Dr. Tim Marsh, former pastor of the First Baptist Church, Rutherfordton, used the theme, "Us and Them," as he delivered the morning message.
"When we use the pronoun 'us,' who might be included in this circle?," Marsh began. "Perhaps we use this pronoun to name our family, our church, our school, our favorite team or even our nation," 'Us' implies that we belong to a group, a group with which we share commonalities. 'Us' also implies the existence of a 'them' 'Us' implies belonging, while 'them' implies exclusion. While 'us' and 'them' can be used in seemingly harmless ways, historically, when it comes to matters of race, nationality, and socio-economic class, applications of 'us' and 'them' have proven to be demeaning, oppressive, even deadly."
Marsh said, "Yet the theme Stronger Together implies that when we allow God to redefine 'us' to include "persons from every tribe and language and people and nation" we become an 'us' whose only existence is for the glory of God and the good of 'them' - whoever they happen to be."
He quoted African American Pastor and Professor Dr. Robert Smith who said, "we don't just need corporate repentance; we need individual repentance. It is easier to stand behind a group, but it is more difficult to say 'I need to repent, and I am going to be an ambassador of reconciliation myself.'"
Marsh asked the congregation what can be done individually to foster racial reconciliation?
"We can make a concerted effort to befriend individuals of another race. We can worship with churches whose racial majority does not look like the racial majority of our own. We can create intentional spaces to worship together, serve together, to hear one another's stories, and to commit to loving one another the way Jesus has loved us."
"Racial reconciliation is a work in progress and it's a work that will always need work, energy, intentionality and love," Marsh continued. "Just as Jews and Gentiles had to live into the words of Paul "to be built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his spirit" we, too, must live into the dream of "every tribe and language and people and nation" with intention, energy and the love of God taking root in our hearts. Today, let's celebrate how far we've come. Let's rejoice in the strides that have been made. Let's rekindle the widening of 'us.' But may we never rest on our laurels, as the goal is yet to be achieved," Marsh said.
He emphasized most important is racial reconciliation does not and can not happen apart from Jesus Christ.
"The one who reconciled Jew and Gentile on the cross, the one who reconciled humanity to God by his death, must be at the center of these efforts. The goal is not for black and white to get along. The goal is not civil rights. These are only means toward the end. Dr. King's legacy is that he would not have equality, civil rights, or freedom apart from love- love that can only be known and experienced in and through Jesus Christ by the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives," Marsh concluded.
Special music was presented by church choirs, handbell choirs and the youth community choir.
Among songs presented by Sounds of Unity Choir was "They Will Know We Are Christians By Our Love."
The special offering for the day was received for Blue Ridge Hope, a local organization which seeks to offer services for mental health clients, aging adults, and youth in Rutherford County and surrounding areas. At least $2,400 was received for Blue Ridge Hope.
Participating churches and pastors included- All Souls Community, Forest City (Pastor Pat Jobe); First Baptist Church, Forest City (Garin Hill); First Baptist Church, Rutherfordton (Interim pastor Joe Yelton); First United Methodist Church, Rutherfordton (In-Yong Lee); Gold Hill Missionary Baptist Church, Rutherfordton (Henry Kerns); Harvest House Baptist Church, Mooresboro (Travis McEntyre); Hope in the City Church, Spindale (Robert Godfrey); Rutherfordton Presbyterian Church (Don Scofield); St. Francis & St. Gabriel Episcopal churches, Rutherfordton (Toni Belhu); The Source Ministries, Forest City (Wayne Roberts) and Union Grove Missionary Baptist Church, Columbus (Stencil Quarles).
Special prayers were said by Kerns, Jobe, Scofield, Roberts, Yelton, McEntyre and Ledbetter, for the school system, political area, prisoners, homelessness, families, the gun violence, drug epidemic, Ukraine and international peace and the community.
