Summer is a good time to be a faith nerd like me, and Oak Bluffs especially has a host of great guest preachers and summer events that inspire everyone who attends. Union Chapel, a lovely space and acoustic gem on Narragansett Avenue, hosts a ton of great speakers on Sundays.
In addition to the special guest preachers over the summer, Juneteenth will feature a special guest on Sunday, June 23rd, Rev. Frederick Douglas Haynes III of Friendship West Baptist Church in Dallas. Doors open at 9:30 a.m., with an organ introductory performance shortly before 10 a.m. Rev. Haynes’ accomplishments are impressive, to say the least. He is an activist and community leader. The church’s website states, “He has allied with local and national community leaders and city, county, state and federal officials to combat social injustice, domestic violence and poverty. He has also worked with the Center for Responsible Lending to combat economic predators who make predatory loans in Texas and across the nation.”
This is something I look forward to every summer. The clergy and educators who come here are people who have made incredible progress in their communities, who have launched programs and projects that have real impact in their own communities and often beyond. I like to find out about some of the speakers.
To see what kind of leadership Haynes brings to the Dallas church, it says it all when he arrived in 1983 with only about 100 members and now with 12,000 members. When I worked in the church world, we knew which clergy were “doing the work” and which were just going through the motions. Engaging the community beyond the church walls means one thing to me: church leaders who don’t just read the gospel, they live it and it becomes a part of who they are.
A program that Haynes started with his insight that was very memorable to me was THR!VE. It is a mentoring internship project that started with 100 young black youth, ages 16-19, connected to local businesses and churches, who are mentored and paid to work in the community. The program was so successful that it expanded and now employs young women as well. It has been almost 10 years since I worked here, and we have young interns at MV Times. I still love being with them and seeing their enthusiasm, their willingness to learn and try new things. Inevitably, when the summer comes to an end, it is sad to see them go. They are an invaluable part of our summer crew and help us cover many of the seasonal news happening across the island. They bring a fresh perspective and enthusiasm that I lost long ago. It brings back a little bit of nostalgia when we see the lights come up for the Fourth of July fireworks, parades, illumination nights, beaches, agricultural fairs, ice cream, lobster rolls, etc.
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about this community “stuff” and how it can be part of anyone’s faith journey. Every time we shop local, visit a farm stand, go to a high school graduation to cheer on the graduating class, buy groceries for a neighbor who can’t leave their home, give a ride to the ferry for someone leaving an island, drop off fresh produce for a food program, or donate some gently worn clothing, we are sharing and helping others. These are pretty basic activities, but they’re important. And when you connect all of these things together, you get examples of living out some of the principles of the gospel.
I consider myself very lucky to live on this island and enjoy the warm and welcoming sense of community here. It takes effort to be mindful of how we treat and support each other. In the midst of all this, we must not forget to root for everyone: people of color, people who don’t live like us, people who don’t look like us. These people are here too, but they don’t always make it to the top. For me, we need to dig deeper and try harder to be inclusive. And I’m learning that more and more as I get older. We have a Juneteenth celebration coming up, and if we don’t recognize it (it’s now a federal holiday), celebrate it, and learn more about it, we’re missing an opportunity to be welcoming and more inclusive. How would it feel to be excluded, even if overlooked? I know that would break my heart.
