Local Christians to ‘Call to Repentance’ once more

Marilyn Griffin’s Ministries of New Life is once again calling local Christians to repent. For the second year in a row, the Christian group led by the Prairie Village woman has organized a service to apologize to Jews for past acts of anti-Semitism committed by Christians throughout history.

The “Call to Repentance” will be observed at 7 p.m., Tuesday, May 19, at Kehilath Israel Synagogue, where the first such service was held in 2008.

“We feel that the grievances are so great that to have an ongoing expression addressing the offenses and bringing them to light … is appropriate, since they cover so many centuries,” said Marilyn Lake Griffin, director of Ministries of New Life.

About 500 people attended last year’s service. Griffin estimated that one-third of the attendees were Jewish. She’s hoping to have more Jewish attendees this year.

“(With) the first one, many of the Jewish community did not know what to expect and were not present. We feel it would be appropriate for us to continue to seek to reach a larger number of people to share our hearts with them; to share the concern that we feel as we learn of the injustices,” Griffin said. “We’d like more of the Jewish community to be aware of a segment of Christians who are awakening to the history that has taken place that we feel has been due to the history of Christian attitudes.”
Kehilath Israel Synagogue leaders are happy to host the event again.
“(Last year), I went into this thing so skeptical, but it was so moving. It was unbelievable,” KI’s Rabbi Herbert Mandl said.

Both Rabbi Mandl and Rabbi Alan Cohen, director of interreligious affairs at the Jewish Community Relations Bureau/American Jewish Committee, have served as consultants on the project both years. Pastors Paul Brooks of the First Baptist Church of Raytown and Bill Newby of Crown Pointe Church also consulted with Griffin on the project.

Positive responses

The rabbis and Griffin said the response to last year’s event was extremely positive.

“We were overwhelmed with the kindness and the warm reception from the Jewish community,” Griffin said. “In addressing this and writing to the Christian community, I have had Christians call and not understand what I’m doing. The Christian community at large doesn’t know their history, and some feel I’m doing something quite strange. Once they learn the history, they have a total turnabout, and then they’re in full agreement.”

Likewise, Rabbi Cohen said, many Jews were surprised and suspicious of the full-page ads the Ministries of New Life ran in the Kansas City Star and Chronicle, expressing repentance.

This year, “I didn’t hear any of the responses that I heard last year … I think people understand the genuine nature of this organization,” Rabbi Cohen said.

Griffin said this year’s program will include more scripture, drawn from the Hebrew Bible, than last year.

From the heart

Rabbis Mandl and Cohen said it’s important to note that the program’s content was all chosen and put together by the Ministries of New Life and is the Ministries’ message.

“It is their program, but I have gone over everything they’re doing, and everything is in good taste and acceptable according to Jewish tradition,” Rabbi Mandl said.

Rabbi Cohen agreed.

“It would have been inappropriate for us to present this or write this. It really is a program that comes from the heart and soul of this organization,” he said.

Last year, Christian speakers included the mayor of Leawood, who apologized for Leawood’s original, restrictive housing covenants, and Rich Hastings, CEO of St. Luke’s Health Systems, who apologized for restrictive policies against Jewish doctors that some hospitals had in the past

Rabbi Mandl hopes that Jewish people turn out to hear the message of repentance being offered at the service.

“If hundreds and hundreds of Christian leaders in the greater Kansas City area want to publicly express their repentance for what their ancestors have done, (and) if the Jewish community isn’t there, who are they saying it for? We need to be receptive and present; otherwise they’re just talking to themselves,” Rabbi Mandl said.
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