Fellow Bereans,
As I’ve become part of Berea College community, my admiration for it has increased, especially its members’ capacity to learn and grow while remaining true to its founding principles. The pattern of articulating, examining and reaffirming our beliefs and how we act on them is woven into the fabric of the institution. In it one can trace how founder John G. Fee’s ideas became the Eight Great Commitments, and one can still see the process at work today, shaping how we live out these principles as individuals and as a community.
Over time, there have been changes in the process of self-reflection, one of which – a very good one, I believe – is how the conversation can be shared with the larger community through social media. To take advantage of this, each month I will make a post (or two) highlighting the work done in support of the Great Commitments, celebrating the accomplishments of dedicated Bereans and, in return, I hope to hear feedback from the community at large.
March is Women’s History Month, so it seems fitting to focus my inaugural post on the sixth Great Commitment, “To create a democratic community dedicated to education and gender equality.”
Laurie and I accompanied the Berea College Concert Choir on a recent tour to the Chicago area as they performed at the University of Wisconsin – Parkside, the Bahá’í House of Worship, the First Unitarian Church of Chicago and Field Museum. All were noteworthy venues, and the choir, 60 voices strong, brought great credit to Berea College through its moving performances. Particularly remarkable too was the visit to the Bahá’í House of Worship, a thoroughly impressive structure located on the shore of Lake Michigan north of downtown Chicago. The photo shows choir members in front of this amazing building after their performance.
The Bahá’í faith emphasizes “unity in diversity,” an interesting belief that resonates with Berea’s motto, “God has made of one blood, all peoples of the earth.” The Bahá’í faith is based on seven Core Principles, which like our Great Commitments, form a mutually reinforcing unity, but my attention settled particularly on the third of those Core Principles – “Equality of women and men.” How striking is that? The wording matches ours exactly (!), and how remarkable for a system of faith to elevate gender equality to the level of central dogma. These are not just words either. In a short video presentation on the history of the National Center of Worship, we visitors learned that female and male adherents of the Bahá’í faith are equally involved in leadership and were similarly equally involved with planning all aspects of their magnificent building.
What a delightful coincidence that this visit occurred in the month of March! My next post will celebrate Berea’s Women’s and Gender Studies program, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year.
Faithfully yours,
Lyle
You can follow me on Twitter @RoelofsLyle.
If you would like to hear some of the Berea College Concert Choir, check out the video below.