Called To Serve And Lead Well With Different Ethnicities

by Denise Posie

My desire to serve different ethnicities in affirming, supporting,
and celebrating our identity, calling, and giftedness goes
back to how my parents raised us to treat all people in our
community with respect. They saw people as God’s people, and
for that reason, we treated them as someone who was part of
our neighborhood. That meant children called adults by their
last names prefixed with Mr. or Mrs. Those same neighbors
corrected us if necessary or told our parents what we did. We
did not hold it against them; we got over it! Our neighbors even
had fun with us. We had a few whites, Jews, Jamaicans, and
mostly blacks who owned small stores or homes to raise their
families. There was a strong sense of community.

This article appears on page 10 of the Summer 2020 edition of the Forum. Download this issue.