Joanne Gallardo, IMMC Conference Co-Minister, reflects on the Civil Rights Pilgrimage in February.

A lot of our energy this spring has gone to our Spring Summits. Our in-person and Zoom options happened in March. One of the highlights was being able have a group of us who went on a Civil Rights Pilgrimage share our experiences. We were able to do this thanks to Mennonite Mission Network, and the trip was able to be sponsored by IMMC.

During the worship time, we reflected on our thoughts, learnings, and emotions. Our trip included visiting many important sites that were a part of the Civil Rights movement, including Atlanta, Montgomery, Selma, and Memphis. We had tour guides who were full of knowledge, many of whom participated in the Civil Rights movement. It was an honor to bear witness to their stories. The repeated theme we heard throughout was BIPOC resilience, which is something I will carry with me for a long time.

What excited me in the time leading up to this trip was the way this ties in so nicely with our mission of growing our intercultural witness. While our Intercultural Working Group did an excellent job of making recommendations to IMMC, it’s opportunities like this that provide tangible and experiential ways we can approach interculturalism. While study and conversations are important, there’s no substitution with hearing personal stories and being in the place where powerful movements happened.

It is my hope that we can continue to find ways to tangibly grow our intercultural witness.