VALLEY FORGE, PA (ABNS 1/15/18)—In honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day today, The Christian Citizen online features a compelling essay written by Dr. Jeffrey Haggray, executive director and CEO of American Baptist Home Mission Societies (ABHMS) and Judson Press.
Referencing the prophetic “Mountaintop” sermon, in which King urges listeners to develop “dangerous unselfishness” on behalf of others, Haggray stirs readers to advocate for those marginalized in today’s United States.
“As we observe King’s legacy during this season of immense social, moral and political unrest in America, the well-being of persons representing a broad spectrum—including immigrants, persons living in poverty, the uninsured, unemployed, homeless, addicted, incarcerated, marginalized, stigmatized, and so on ad infinitum—is threatened daily,” Haggray writes. “The bell of freedom and righteousness continues to summon men and women of conscience and moral concern to sacrifice personal comforts, resources and conventional respectability for the sake of justice, advocacy and protections for all those who are too weak to defend themselves.”
Haggray quotes from the Mountaintop sermon, as delivered on the eve of King’s assassination: “The question is not, ‘If I stop to help this man in need, what will happen to me?’ The question is, ‘If I do not stop to help the sanitation workers [those in need], what will happen to them?’”
For the past year, ABHMS has been publishing an online version of The Christian Citizen—its acclaimed Christian witness print magazine—to provide a 21st-century forum for American Baptists and other diverse voices to offer timely response to current events and contemporary issues in a format that’s fresh and easily accessible to readers.
The Christian Citizen online features thought-provoking articles and action-inspiring essays that intersect faith, politics, discipleship and citizenship, while examining a plethora of public-concern matters ranging from gun violence, racism, trauma and sexual violence to poverty, food insecurity, disabilities and immigration.
To read The Christian Citizen online, visit www.christiancitizen.us. Like The Christian Citizen on Facebook and follow on Twitter.
In addition to publishing online, The Christian Citizen will continue to publish a bi-annual print issue that features the online magazine’s best fare from the previous six months. To subscribe to the print version, visit www.abhms.org > Publications & Resources, and then click “Publications” in the gray menu at the left and scroll down to “Sign up for our publications.”
Those wishing to submit an essay or article for online publication consideration are encouraged to visit http://write.christiancitizen.us.
American Baptist Home Mission Societies partners with American Baptists to promote Christian faith, cultivate Christ-centered leaders and disciples, and bring healing and transformation to communities across the United States and Puerto Rico.
Founded in 1824, Judson Press is a publishing ministry of American Baptist Home Mission Societies, American Baptist Churches USA. It is committed to producing Christ-centered leadership resources for the transformation of individuals, congregations, communities and cultures.
American Baptist Churches USA is one of the most diverse Christian denominations today, with approximately 5,000 congregations comprised of 1.3 million members, across the United States and Puerto Rico, all engaged in God’s mission around the world.