By Hillary Harder
Leading the Environmental Disaster and Response with MDS course in Selma, Alabama this month has been nothing short of transformative. As I reflect back over the three weeks of our travel, living, learning, working, fellowshipping, and processing together, I am left with immense gratitude.
First, I want to thank our gracious hosts in Selma, Alabama. This is a rich, storied, resilient community, a place I have personally wanted to visit for a long time because of the role it played in the Civil Rights movement. There’s no replacement for being in a physical place: walking the streets, popping into businesses, driving around running errands, riding in the back of our work trucks each morning and afternoon. During our time in Selma I learned that it’s a place where history is vividly alive – and the through-line of historical events throws into sharp relief the inequities and injustices still present today. We had the incredible opportunity of hearing first-hand stories and perspectives from visionary community leaders in Selma:
- Our tour guide, Ms. Barbara, a Foot Soldier who marched in the Selma to Montgomery voting rights marches of 1965 and whose tour was equal parts history lesson and call to action;
- Ms. Rose Toure, a living legend – a Civil Rights attorney and Alabama’s first African American woman judge – who gave us a personal tour through the Enslavement and Civil War museum that
she helped create in downtown Selma, which ended in us all singing Spirituals together; - Pastor Culliver, the youngest pastor in the history of the iconic Tabernacle Baptist Church, who spoke to our group at dinner one night and was so struck by what we were doing in Selma that he came to visit each of our MDS job sites the next day;
- Pastor Grayson of the Gospel Tabernacle Church, who just received a high-profile national award from the Small Business Administration in Washington, D.C. and turned right around to have dinner with us upon his return.
Each one of these leaders shared a similar message: the tornado that hit Selma in 2023 didn’t discriminate, but the recovery process does. Some have resources to rebuild, and some don’t. Some have insurance, and some don’t. Some have the education to know where to turn to access their rights, and some don’t. It’s no coincidence that these disparities fall along race and class lines. What our hosts in Selma taught us is that true community-building work requires cultivating partnerships built on trust, prioritizing humility and understanding of a community’s story and identity, and relentlessly continuing to show up. Selma, Alabama is a proud, beautiful place where so many of this country’s most pivotal myths and evils and triumphs collide. I am deeply grateful to the community of Selma for the learning we were privileged to experience there.
Second, I want to to thank our Mennonite Disaster Service leaders. I am not exaggerating when I say – as many of the students have said before me – that we became like family during our short weeks together. MDS is a quiet, humble example of a model of community development work that I believe actually works toward justice. Placing homeowners at the center, building relationships with local community leaders and partner organizations, identifying the strengths of a community and not merely what it lacks – these values feel truly centered on the Christ who sought out the marginalized and proclaimed the reign of God here and now. Our MDS leaders modeled what it means to be the hands and feet of Christ. They led with grace, trust, and true care for each of us. Our Project Director, Michele, took time to get to know each of us and nurture our faith, both students and leaders; our Construction Supervisor, Larry, took us under his wing with compassion and humor even while holding together all the goals and processes for our many tasks; our crew leaders taught us countless new skills and patiently stood by us while we tried, failed, and eventually succeeded; our cooks worked tirelessly to keep us healthy and nourished; our office manager attended to a thousand details and helped everything run smoothly. What’s more, we built true relationships of love and friendship during our time together. From sleepy breakfasts, to lunchtime breaks on the jobsite, to daily sharing around the dinner table, to rowdy and fun game time every night – the time we spent together blossomed into deep, abiding connections that will continue into the future.
Third, I want to thank Goshen College. I feel a renewed sense of gratitude to work at an institution that places such a huge priority on inter-cultural, experiential learning, not as an add-on or an afterthought, but as a core part of the curriculum. I’m grateful, as well, that the new Study-Service Term model finds creative ways for all students to be able to access these learning experiences.
Finally, I want to thank the students. I couldn’t have asked for a more thoughtful, caring, insightful, and inspiring group of humans. On a daily basis they blew me away with their curiosity, their ability to see clearly the connections between our learnings and the present needs of the world, their unflinching strength and honest look at hard things, and their generous, fun-loving spirits. I am truly grateful to have had the opportunity to get to know each one of them – and all of them, in their own unique ways, give me hope for the future knowing that they will be taking their gifts and convictions out into the world.
I want to close this reflection by sharing, with permission, a musical offering from our Goshen College group and some of our MDS friends. On Thursday, May 16 we had the honor of being part of a home dedication ceremony for a family whose home was destroyed in the 2023 tornado, and with whom MDS partnered to build them a new home from the ground up. As part of the ceremony, we were asked to sing a song. One of our students, Evelyn, suggested this one – “the Blessing” – a setting of the familiar benediction from the book of Numbers. We sang it in both English and Spanish to honor the fact that many of our group members’ first language – and their heart language – is Spanish. We offer this in gratitude to all those who gave of themselves to contribute toward our learning. Thank you, thank you.
