Martin Luther King Jr.
January 10, 2018
2018 special edition
Page 15
Interfaith leaders in Portland are following in the path of the late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. by forming a “Beloved Community of Oregon” organization to
bring people together. Clergy from the group gathered last January for a silent march and mediation to respond to a new era of hate speech, hate crimes
and racial profiling.
Bringing
People Together
Interfaith group inspired by MLK
by Dana Lynn Barbar
The Portland Observer
A group of local religious
leaders of different faiths,
known as the Beloved Com-
munity of Oregon, is now
hosting monthly meetings for
the public in an effort to bring
people together. Influenced by
the teachings of Dr. Martin
Luther King, Jr., who promot-
ed love, respect, and justice,
these forums are planned with
a commitment to justice for all
in mind.
The Beloved Community
began in September 2001 when
members of the United Church
of Christ and the Muslim com-
munity decided to meet weekly
over lunch in an effort to bridge
divides.
The community grew to
include members of other re-
ligious institutions, and they
continued to meet weekly since
then. This last spring, they
started monthly forums for the
public in an effort to create di-
alogue an increasingly divided
political climate and to foster
more community engagement.
The purpose of the forums is
to help people move past their
fear of difference and deepen
their community relationships
while learning about and work-
ing towards a cause for the
greater good.
Each monthly forum is held
on the fourth Sunday of the
month in a different location
and takes on a certain issue
or theme. Past forums have
focused on gun violence, im-
migrant and refugee voices in
public policy, and the histo-
ry of how borders in Middle
Eastern countries got drawn
and how that impacted colonial
dominance.
Guest speakers have in-
Continued on Page 16