A New Dawn in Beloved Community: Stories with the Power to Transform Us

Brief Description: These stories and readers stories together build a new community."Table of Contents: Preface -- Introduction / Linda Lee -- 1. Tiospaye, Brothers and Sisters, Listen Carefully / Ray Buckley -- 2. A Tapestry in the Disanga: Building Beloved Community from a Congolese Perspective / J. Kabamba Kiboko -- 3. Building Beloved Community: The Church in the Midst of Racism, A U. S. Latino/Hispanic Perspective / David Maldonado, Jr. -- 4. Beloved Communities in Europe: A Challenge to Expand Our Comfort Zone / Asa Nausner -- 5. New Eyes to See / Elaine A. Robinson -- 6. Becoming Beloved Community: An African American Perspective / Rosetta Ross -- 7. From God-Community to a Beloved Community / Samuel John Royappa -- Contributors -- Study Guide -- Conclusion: Becoming Beloved Community / Elaine A. Robinson -- For Further Reading.

Contributor Bio:  Lee, Linda Linda Leeis a graduate of United Theological Seminary (M. Div. and D. Min.). Shemade history in 2000 when she was the first African American woman to be elected bishop in the North Central Jurisdiction. Lee was elected on July 14, 2000, in Middleton, Wisconsin, and was assigned to her home area of Michigan, an unusual action that had not occurred for 40 years and required special action of the jurisdictional conference. After one quadrennium of service in Michigan, Lee was assigned to the Wisconsin Area in 2004. Lee served as chair of the Black Clergywomen of the United Methodist Church (1996-98) and has been a member of a number of annual conference committees, including the Board of Ordained Ministry. She has served as a speaker for numerous schools, retreats and conferences and is a two-time delegate to General Conference. She is a contributing writer in several publications and has served as an adjunct professor of spirituality at Ecumenical Theological Seminary in Detroit. She will retire from the episcopacy in September 2012 and will join Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary as Bishop-in-Residence starting in March 2013. Contributor Bio:  Fosua, Abena Safiyah Dr. Rev. Safiyah Fosua has roots in both Kansas and Oklahoma. Her academic background includes a Bachelor of Arts degree from Northwestern University of Evanston, Illinois; a Master of Divinity degree from Oral Roberts Seminary in Tulsa, Oklahoma; and a Doctor of Ministry degree from the United Theological Seminary of Dayton, Ohio, in Afrocentric Pastoring and Preaching. Safiyah writes weekly lectionary-based preaching helps and articles for the General Board of Discipleship s worship web page and has written for Upper Room publications, Cokesbury s Daily Bible Study, Urban Ministries, Inc., and contributed to the Women of Color Study Bible. Among her published works are Mother Wit: 365 Meditations for African-American Women (1996), Jesus and Prayer (2002), and a tract titled Learning New Habits (2005). Safiyah also served as the associate editor of the Africana Worship Book, series (2006-2008) and the Companion to the Africana Worship Book (2008). Currently, Safiyah is a member of the Africana Hymnal Study Committee for the United Methodist Church and a writing coach for GBOD s Open Source Liturgy Project empowering writers to produce ecumenically-grounded contextual, multi-cultural and multi-ethnic liturgies for use in local church worship. Dr. Fosua is a clergy member of the Greater New Jersey Annual Conference. Her pastoral experience includes ministry in the large downtown church, the unique ministry of the rural circuit, and the ministry challenges of the small inner-city congregation. Safiyah Fosua is married to Rev. Dr. Kwasi I. Kena. Prior to her current appointment as Director of Preaching Ministries for the General Board of Discipleship, Safiyah and her husband, Kwasi, spent a number of years as missionaries in Ghana, West Africa. The couple has two adult sons, and two grandchildren.