Gregory C. Ellison II - Anchored in the Current: Discovering Howard Thurman as Educator, Activist, Guide, and Prophet

Anchored in the Current

Anchored in the Current

Discovering Howard Thurman
as Educator, Activist, Guide, and Prophet

Edited by Gregory C. Ellison II

2020 Westminster John Knox Press

First edition

Published by Westminster John Knox Press

Louisville, Kentucky

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Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A., and are used by permission. Scripture quotations marked ESV are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked NIV are from The Holy Bible, New International Version. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Our Life and Times poem, by Mari Evans, is reprinted by permission of the author. All rights reserved. Excerpts from Howard Thurmans Disciplines of the Spirit, The Inward Journey, and The Growing Edge are used by permission of Friends United Press. All rights reserved. Excerpts from Jesus and the Disinherited and Meditations of the Heart, by Howard Thurman, and Lanterns: A Memoir of Mentors, by Marian Wright Edelman, are reprinted by permission of Beacon. All rights reserved. Used by permission. Excerpt from Elesa Commerse, The Lightning Rod of Loss and How It Compels Us to Be Kind, Yoga Chicago (March/April 2020), is used by permission of the author. All rights reserved.

Book design by Drew Stevens

Cover design by designpointinc.com

Cover photo by Joshua Earle on Unsplash

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Ellison, II, Gregory C., editor.

Title: Anchored in the current : discovering Howard Thurman as educator, activist, guide, and prophet / edited by Gregory C. Ellison, II.

Description: First edition. | Louisville, Kentucky : Westminster John Knox Press, [2020] | Includes index. | Summary: In this volume, internationally known leaders like Marian Wright Edelman, Parker Palmer, and Barbara Brown Taylor invite the reader into creative engagement with Thurman's writings and seminal ideas. Readers will find important and enduring answers in the works of this indispensable prophet and teacherProvided by publisher.

Identifiers: LCCN 2020040340 (print) | LCCN 2020040341 (ebook) | ISBN 9780664260668 (paperback) | ISBN 9781611649994 (ebook)

Subjects: LCSH: Thurman, Howard, 1900-1981.

Classification: LCC BX6495.T53 A63 2020 (print) | LCC BX6495.T53 (ebook) | DDC 280/.4092dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020040340

LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020040341

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Contents

Interlude: The Gift of Good Counsel:
Listening for The Sound of the Genuine

Interlude: Echoes of Head and Heart:
An Ancestral Journey Within

Patrick D. Clayborn is the senior pastor of Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Baltimore, Maryland. He is married to Rev. Sheri Smith Clayborn and has two children: Patrick II and Joya.

Elesa Commerse is the founder and codirector of Touching Earth Mindfulness Learning Center. She teaches meditation and mindful communication worldwide and offers intensive thematic studies and retreats for students committed to the practice.

Martin Doblmeier is the founder of Journey Films. He has produced more than thirty award-winning documentary films on topics of religion, faith, and spirituality, including Bonhoeffer, The Power of Forgiveness, and Backs against the Wall: The Howard Thurman Story.

Marian Wright Edelman, founder and president emerita of the Childrens Defense Fund (CDF), has been an advocate for disadvantaged Americans for her entire professional life. For her life of service in the legal community and her advocacy on behalf of children, she received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nations highest civilian award, in 2000.

Gregory C. Ellison II is Associate Professor of Pastoral Care and Counseling at Emory Universitys Candler School of Theology and founder of Fearless Dialogues. He is married to Antoinette and the proud father of Gregory III and Anaya.

Mari Evans was a poet, writer, playwright, and composer, associated with the Black Arts Movement. Instructed by her beloved teacher Langston Hughes, Evanss iconic poems like I Am a Black Woman and Celebration have been copiously cited and live on in the hearts of many.

Walter Earl Fluker is Martin Luther King, Jr. Professor of Ethical Leadership at Boston University School of Theology and editor and director of the Howard Thurman Papers Project.

Stephen Lewis is the president of the Forum for Theological Exploration (FTE) and creator of DO GOOD X, a start-up accelerator for diverse Christian social entrepreneurs. He is passionate about inspiring the next generation of leaders to make a difference in the world through Christian communities and businesses that do good in the world.

Parker J. Palmer is an independent writer, teacher, and activist. He holds a PhD from the University of California, Berkeley, and his ten books (most recently, On the Brink of Everything: Grace, Gravity and Getting Old) have been recognized with thirteen honorary doctorates.

Luke A. Powery is the dean of the Duke University Chapel and Associate Professor of Homiletics at Duke Divinity School. His most recent book is Were You There? Lenten Reflections on the Spirituals, and he also serves as a general editor for the nine-volume lectionary commentary series titled Connections: A Lectionary Commentary for Preaching and Worship.

Liza J. Rankow is an interfaith minister, activist, educator, and the founder of OneLife Institute for Spirituality & Social Transformation. She has taught classes on Thurman in community and academic settings since 2002 and is the producer and coeditor of a six-CD archival audio collection titled The Living Wisdom of Howard Thurman (Sounds True, 2010).

Tyler Ho-Yin Sit is a United Methodist pastor and church planter of New City Church in Minneapolis. He is author of the upcoming book tentatively titled Staying Awake: The Gospel for Changemakers, an exploration of Christianity from queer perspectives of color. @TylerSit

Luther E. Smith Jr. is Professor Emeritus of Church and Community, Candler School of Theology, Emory University. He is the author of Howard Thurman: The Mystic as Prophet, editor of Howard Thurman: Essential Writings, senior advisory editor for the Howard Thurman Papers Project, coeditor of the recordings The Living Wisdom of Howard Thurman: A Visionary for Our Time, and author of numerous articles on Howard Thurman.