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SUNDAY, OCTOBER 2: Clarence Jordan – What a Life! with Dick Smythe

How many of us have a faith we would die for?  How many of us have a faith not  only held in spite of evidence but a faith lived in scorn of the consequences?  How many of us would continue to hold a faith resulting in exposure to gunfire, explosions, protracted boycotts, beatings, scorn of neighbors, destruction of property, and repeated threats of murder?

Despite all those challenges “Clarence Jordan attempted to be in dialogue with his Deep South culture.  He sought the liberation of the oppressed and the oppressor, and called for a new view of humanity and an alternative portrayal of God and the Bible.”  His impact was so strong that 50 years after his death in 1969 his legend as a “modern saint” lingers on in an American society that seems far removed from the vision  to which he dedicated his life. His story, his life “can be understood as something like a scream in a dark night while others of us have been asleep.”

Dick Smythe is an entomologist retired from the research division of the US Forest Service. Throughout his life he has maintained two dominant interests: first, his fascination with the natural world – our non-human environment and endless source of wonder; second, his abiding interest in religion/theology – a subject of continuing education and challenge.

Service Leader: Cindy Nelson — Music: Beth Coleman