A \u201cNight of Lament for Racial Reconciliation,\u201d organized and hosted by the Furman University chapter of the International Justice Mission and the Furman University Gospel Ensemble (FUGE), originally scheduled for Oct. 29 but postponed because of Hurricane Zeta, has been rescheduled for this Thursday, Nov. 6. The virtual event is a CLP, open to the public, and will begin at 8:30 p.m.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn the New Testament, there\u2019s a very common verse that everybody knows, and it\u2019s \u2018Jesus wept.\u2019 The shortest verse in the Bible, and it\u2019s so powerful to see that Jesus is God, but he too wept when he went through things that people on Earth are going through,\u201d FUGE president Abby Magoola ’21, a biology major, said. \u201cLamenting from a Christian standpoint is to connect with our feelings in order to connect with Jesus, who went through those same feelings himself.\u201d<\/p>\n
Traditionally, there are four stages of lament: Turn to God, complain, ask and trust. Dorothy and B.H. Pearce Jr. Associate Professor of Religion Bryan Bibb<\/a> will begin the program by introducing the history\u00a0of lament in the Jewish and Christian traditions and its role in worship and tragedy.<\/p>\n Students will then lead a service lamenting the history of racism and oppression in the United States, with each of the four sections followed by gospel songs from FUGE and the offering of prayer. Susanna Larry ’12, an assistant professor of Biblical Studies at Anabaptist Mennonite Theological Seminary, will offer a benediction and cultural context.<\/p>\n Special emphasis will be given to regional and local history, including the memory of Clark Murphy, the much-loved African American janitor, groundskeeper and handyman at Greenville Woman\u2019s College for whom the Clark Murphy Housing Complex was recently named.<\/p>\n The death of George Floyd, who was killed when Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin knelt on his neck for more than eight minutes as Floyd lay face down and handcuffed on a street, sparked nationwide protests of police brutality and for racial justice that have\u00a0persisted for months<\/a> in responses to a lengthy list<\/a> of Black people who have died at the hands of law enforcement in recent years.<\/p>\n \u201c2020 has been an opportunity to evolve our society,\u201d Magoola, native of Uganda who grew up in the United States, said. \u201cIt is hard to go through as a Black person \u2026 This is a great opportunity for all of us to reflect on what\u2019s happening, and I\u2019ll definitely be doing some reflecting as I lead this ceremony because it\u2019s a great way to decompress.\u201d<\/p>\n Meghan Bullard \u201921 leads the campus International Justice Mission (IJM) chapter, and the Night of Lament was an idea she brought back to Furman after participating in a lament during her summer internship with IJM<\/a>. The International Justice Mission works to combat sex trafficking, forced labor, slavery and abuse of police power. All of its employees are required to be practicing Christians.<\/p>\n \u201cWe wanted to have a place where Furman students can come and emotionally process everything that has happened this summer and, honestly, the injustice that has existed in our country for 400 years,\u201d Bullard, a biology and German studies major from Buford, Georgia, said. \u201cThat way we can come to a place where we’re ready to go out and fight injustice, and we’re not doing that from a place of emptiness but rather we feel emotionally equipped.\u201d<\/p>\n