meckmin
Mar 31, 2021
Helping people recognize the value of religious pluralism for the Charlotte community is the aim of the Johnson C. Smith University (JCSU) Bridge Builders Project. The team, led by Kip Mobley, Assistant Professor of Religion and Coordinator for the Spiritual Life Center at Johnson C. Smith University is producing a series of short documentary videos that capture how diverse religious communities are responding to the pandemic, often through virtual efforts. More than 40 interviews have been conducted so far. The films highlight MeckMIN's efforts to mobilize our diverse faith communities to meet critical needs during the pandemic.
In this episode, the Rev. LeDayne McLeese Polaski, Executive Director of MeckMIN interviews poet and storyteller Hannah Hasan about how her Muslim faith informs her response to Covid-19.
Episode 4 tells a story of vision and persistence. Despite the pandemic, the Chapel of Christ the King followed through with a plan that was a year in the making—to transform the church’s under utilized property into an edible landscape, an orchard that would address food insecurity and provide an outdoor space where longtime residents and new arrivals can come together as neighbors.
Kendal P. Mobley (aka Kip) serves as Assistant Professor of Religion and Coordinator for the Spiritual Life Center at Johnson C. Smith University (JCSU). He joined JCSU’s faculty in 2014. He is an ordained minister in the Baptist tradition, having served for more than 20 years as a church planter and pastor in Rhode Island and North Carolina. Recently, his research interests have focused on the intersections of race, religion, and civil religion in the US, and on interfaith cooperation for the common good. Kendal Mobley lives in Salisbury, North Carolina, with Rhonda Brady-Mobley, his wife of thirty-two years. They have two adult children and one granddaughter.
The Crisis and Compassion Team
Kendal P. Mobley, Assistant Professor of Religion and Coordinator for the Spiritual Life Center at Johnson C. Smith University
LeDayne McLeese Polaski, Executive Director, MeckMIN
Iyanla Parsanlal and Exodus Moon., JCSU Students