CYMT – Invest in Youth

 Just Mercy Discussion guide. Developed by:Sara Galyon, Director of Youth and Ed, Messiah Lutheran, Madison ALRev. Abby Prevost, Cumberland Presbyterian ChurchThis was developed for a congregation in North Alabama, as always, please adapt to make questions appropriate for your context. Opening Prayer:God of the Justice and Mercy,We ask for your spirit to be with us in this space. The same spirit that moved over the formless void. The same spirit that moved the prophets to call for Justice to roll on like a river and righteousness like a never ending stream. Let your holy spirit fill our lungs and guide our conversation. Open our ears to listen, and embolden us to share what we believe to be true. We pray these things in the name of God the Creator, Jesus the Savior, and the Spirit the sustainer. Amen. Everyone attending should have either read the book Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson or watched the film with the same name. For a brief synopsis to remind those who might need a refresher you can find it here.Open up the conversation by asking for participants to offer one word that came out of the movie for them. This needs to be just one word, there will be lots of time for more words later! Between 9-10 minutes in the movie there is a conversation between mother and son. This conversation is about how dangerous it will be for Bryan to go to Alabama to do the work he feels called to do. Some questions for consideration surrounding this scene:What kind of conversations have you had about safety with your family?Have your families ever told you stories about other people to illustrate why you need to be safe?Do you know who Emmett Till is? (If you are unfamiliar with Emmett’s story you can read about it here wasn’t uncommon for Black parents to tell their children Emmett’s story before they came to the south. Have you ever been warned with a story like this?How do you feel about the death penalty after watching this movie. What do you think about the quote “They can call it what they want, it's just another way to lynch a black man”?“If I don’t hear from you by morning I’ll send a rescue party”“I hope that’s a joke”“Me too”Why do your parents tell you to call or text when you get somewhere? Are they worried the police might harm you? Why or why not?In the movie the operations director of the Equal Justice Initiative (Eva Ansley) gets a bomb threat called to her house. How much security are we really willing to give up for ourselves to help others? What can we learn about being an ally for people of color from Eva Ansley?How do you fight for what’s right when you are just trying to survive? (Darnell arrested for perjury)What does it mean to be a “good friend’ in today’s context? What does it mean to be a “good friend” to those waiting too long for justice, the way Johnny D was a good friend to Herb?Who would fight for you? If you were accused of something you didn’t do, who would fight for you? “Nobody talks about how this is where thousands of enslaved people were brought here and marched up to be sold. Nobody wants to talk about the hundreds of black people who were lynched…” Why don’t we want to talk about it?Answer these questions for yourself. No need to share your answers with the group, but keep the answers somewhere you can find them, to remind you what you want to do moving forward. What is one thing you learned from this movie?What is one thing you want to learn more about?What is one action you can take now that you have heard this story?Remember this:“Hopelessness is the enemy of Justice” ................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download