From the Pastor's Desk for April 2026

Dear Lighthouse Church:

In March, Debbie and I traveled to Alabama, the cities of Birmingham, Selma, and Montgomery for an immersion trip as part of my Master of Divinity Course. This was a journey not just to another state but also to another era because we were there to tour some of the sites of the civil rights movement of the 1960s. There were 23 total participants in this pilgrimage, with one professor, Debbie, and I as the only Caucasians. We were made to feel welcome and became parts of the group. All the participants except Debbie were either students or professors of theology were ministry.

We visited many sites in the National Park Trail  Alabama, which commemorates the Selma to Montgomery March in favor of the voting rights act of 1965. Like most of you, Debbie and I grew up in this era and remember Martin Luther King Jr. and other civil rights leaders. One of the places we visited was the Birmingham jail from which he had written his famous letter explaining why peaceful resistance to segregation and discrimination was necessary. We saw exhibits showing how Blacks were systematically excluded from voting by such means as ridiculous tests to determine whether they qualified as voters, one example of which was to count the number of jellybeans in a jar. People who call themselves Christians were denying their fellow human beings the basic rights of citizenship to continue their racist policies.

Moreover, we saw places where acts of violence were committed against protesters and others. One such location was the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma where on March 7, 1965, Alabama state troopers and County Sheriff’s halted, and then attacked marchers. They used horses and clubs to drive the demonstrators back across the bridge. This event is known as “Bloody Sunday.” We visited one museum that had a display on lynching which was very disturbing. These executions could be for something as trivial as failing to yield to a white person on the sidewalk. The victim was often beaten before hanging and then shot or burned during or after; and then left as an example. The brutality took our breath away.

As Christians we were moved to consider the crucifixion of Christ by the Romans at the behest of the Sadducees and Pharisees. Like Christ, southern Blacks were flogged and hung on trees to demonstrate the power of those in charge. The purpose of these atrocities was to maintain the status quo rooted in evil with the promise that all men are created equal was denied. The bigotry rampant in the 1960s and some people’s hearts continues. We should all strive to remove from our consciousness any shred of racism. All humankind are children of God deserving of our love as brothers and sisters. As Martin Luther King Jr. said he dreamed of a time when we would be judged by the content of our character and not the color of our skin. I pray we all can help bring this aspiration to fruition.

Pastor Eric