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.
View Episodes 1-4 with Study Guides by visiting the Crisis & Compassion Webpage
Crisis & Compassion Episode 1: Making a Shidduch
Episode 1 highlights the key role of MeckMIN in swiftly bringing diverse Charlotte-Mecklenburg faith communities and nonprofits together to meet needs and adapt to the new realities of the pandemic.
Crisis and Compassion Episode 2: The Muslim in the Room: A Conversation with Hannah Hasan
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.
Crisis and Compassion Episode 3: Doing the Work
Leaders from five different religious traditions articulate the values and motivations that inspire their work, and they share some of what they’ve learned along the way.
Crisis and Compassion Episode 4: That They May All Be One
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