Mary McLeod Bethune
Mary McLeod Bethune Statue in Lincoln Park in Washington, DC
“Happy New Year” is the traditional greeting and wish we share with each other during these early days of January. Another tradition is making “New Year’s Resolutions.” These are usually various intentions for a healthier and happier life in the year ahead. The problem is that most of these resolutions are not successful. Good intentions often fade away due to the lack of commitment and perseverance necessary for the resolution to be deeply integrated into people’s lives. So this year I want to lift up a call to New Year’s Perseverance, to continue and deepen our commitment to the journey of spiritual formation and racial justice/reconciliation. The tragic and extraordinary events of 2020 including the killing of George Floyd and the COVID-19 pandemic catalized movements to expose and resist systemic racism. The journey toward greater levels of justice for all people, especially for people of color who have been historically marginalized, calls for perseverance not only in our generation but across the generations throughout our nation’s history. This call for perseverance is summarized in a quote by the Black leader and educator Mary McLeod Bethune in 1939:
“Perhaps the greatest battle is before us, the fight for a new America: fearless, free, untied, morally rearmed, in which 12 million Negroes, shoulder to shoulder with their fellow Americans, will strive that this nation under God will have a new birth of freedom, and that the government of the people, for the people and by the people shall not perish from the earth.”
The minsitry of Cornelius Corps remains committed to persevere in our mission of “equipping people for a shared journey of spiritual formation and racial justice/reconciliation.”
We are able to persevere into 2021 because of your gracious prayers and financial support. Our year end financial campaign goal of $10,000 was not only met but surpassed. This is especially important as we take the step of becoming an independent non-profit organization based in the Richmond, VA area after nearly 20 years based in DC.