To the editor:
I am writing about the Hope for Living column in the March 21-23, 2020, edition of the Daily Reporter. Titled "God weaves various backgrounds into Harmony," the column is by the Rev. Theodore A. Griffin, lead pastor of Brown’s Chapel Wesleyan.
In this column, Rev. Griffin gives us a clear explanation of the benefits he and his wife have gained by choosing to lead churches here and in Kentucky, Pennsylvania and Virginia.
He never once puts the onus on the communities to learn about his wife and him. Although that has to be something he hopes for. He outlines those things that make it easier for him to learn about these communities and for them to learn about him. I especially appreciate his last idea on building community in places where people are so different on the surface. "Promote a spirit of inclusion," is his admonition to us and to himself. In other words, invite those who are different than we are to take part in our lives. This can be difficult and, sometimes, frightening, as we deal with our own insecurities around people we perceive as so different.
Thank you Rev. Griffin for your willingness to try to be in places where others are so different than you, at least on the surface. And thank you Brown’s Chapel Wesleyan for your willingness to embrace Rev. Griffin and his wife.
Jim Matthews
Greenfield
