Articles

Historic Roswell Churches Meet on Common Ground of Racial Reconciliation

By Rosalyn Dailey Shareef
Faith And The City E-Letter
Volume 2 Issue 9
July 8, 2003

Roswell Presbyterian Church, PC (U.S.A.), and Zion Missionary Baptist Church are two of Roswell's largest and most historic congregations. Roswell is a predominantly white and Zion a predominantly black congregation. Yet, the difference in racial make-up is helping to bring the two congregations closer together. Spearheading the commitment to better understanding are Elder Lin Holoman of Roswell Presbyterian and Deacon Keith Dennis of Zion Missionary Baptist.

About four years ago, Holoman, fellow members from Roswell, and members from Zion Missionary were instrumental in establishing the Racial Reconciliation Council. The council's mission is to expand awareness of racism and prejudice, which divide God's people, and to foster reconciliation, inclusiveness, and Christian love among all people. The group includes members from both congregations and meets monthly to discuss race-related current events and share fellowship.

Holoman explained that his interest in such an initiative was sparked by a life-altering sermon some years ago by Roswell Presbyterian's associate minister, Rev. Richard Hill. The sermon argued that the Christian church has failed to deal adequately with racism, allowing a "gap of understanding" that results in black and white Christians not really knowing one another.

Afterward, Holoman immediately began to search inside himself. After several months, he went to Rev. Hill, who advised him to contact Willie Hinton, an elder at Hillside Presbyterian Church. Hinton invited him to become a member of the Greater Atlanta Presbytery Task Force to Combat Racism. Later Holoman and others who shared his vision organized the Racial Reconciliation Council.

According to Dennis, the council has helped to forge the bond between the two congregations, an effort that positively impacts youth, as well as adults, in both congregations. "Our [Zion] youth ministry works with [Roswell's] youth ministry, and they do things without us [the council] even knowing anything about it, and this happens with other groups as well," Dennis explained approvingly. "Four or five years ago that never would have happened."

Along with monthly council meetings, there are also quarterly forums at which panels of members from each church place issues "on the table." In a recent forum, the panel consisted of four people, two from Zion and two from Roswell. Each member shared personal experiences about race. Then, the audience participated by breaking into small groups and talking about the panel discussion. Finally, a representative from each group shared the group's consensus with the entire audience.

"We feel like we're making progress, [although] it's probably small," said Holoman. "But at least we're getting the word out. We're helping people understand and we're opening some eyes."

The work of the Racial Reconciliation Council has been an eye-opening experience for both congregations, according to Holoman and Dennis. The churches are located only a mile apart in Roswell, their members share similar socio-economic backgrounds, and both congregations also enjoy long, proud, and connected histories.

Roswell Presbyterian Church dates back to the late 1830s. The original structure was similar to that of a New England meetinghouse and included galleries for slave members to attend worship services. Today, more than 160 years later, Roswell Presbyterian has a number of black members, including several from Kenya. The church has elected a black Georgian to the congregation's governing body. Holoman believes such developments have been facilitated by the work of the Racial Reconciliation Council.

Former slaves founded Zion Missionary Baptist Church in 1871 on land donated by white citizens of Roswell. The first church building was a one-room structure that also housed a school for black students. Zion recently celebrated its 132nd anniversary, with Roswell Presbyterian members participating. A number of whites attend Zion.

In fact, the partnership between the two congregations has borne other joint activities. One is an annual, two-day, deep-sea fishing trip to Florida for members of both congregations. Another involves helping to staff the Central Presbyterian Shelter in downtown Atlanta. Men, women, and youth from the Roswell Presbyterian and Zion Missionary Baptist provide food and fellowship for shelter residents and spend the night with them.

The next step for the churches' racial reconciliation initiative is reaching out to the surrounding community, according to Dennis. "We're making a difference in our two churches; we can do it in the community also."

Roswell Presbyterian and Zion Missionary Baptist have participated in programs sponsored by the Congregational Exchange Initiative, a program of Faith And The City. The Congregational Exchange has facilitated more than 150 similar partnerships, often across denominational lines and sometimes across faith traditions.

For more information on Roswell Presbyterian Church or Zion Missionary Baptist Church, visit their websites at http://www.roswellpres.org or http://www.zionmbc.org. For more information on the Congregational Exchange Initiative, contact Jan Swanson at jswanson@faithandthecity.org or 404-523-5554.