Posted: February 23rd, 2010 James Willamor

Around 200 refugees celebrated birthdays and friendships at the fourth annual Refugee Support Services birthday party. Myers Park United Methodist hosted the event, which was rescheduled from January to Feb. 20.

Parents looked on as children played carnival games and enjoyed a magic show by “Magic Mike” Hinton. Volunteers from the Sports Outreach Institute also lead children in group games in the gymnasium.

The participating refugees are Burmese and Montagnards, an indigenous people from Vietnam.  North Carolina is home to the largest Montagnard population outside of Vietnam.

“Many refugees, because they do not know the month or day of their birth, are assigned the birthday of ‘January 1’ when they enter the UN refugee camps,” says Rachel Humphries, director of Refugee Support Services of the Carolinas.

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Posted: February 23rd, 2010 Tonya Jameson

The two young women couldn’t take it anymore.

They stood on the side of the stage at the Neighborhood Theatre dancing politely in place, but then the groove hit them. They led each other onto the floor in front of the stage and started swerving their hips in that salsa kind of way. That was all it took. Other men and women who had been standing near them filled in around them.

Carnival was on and poppin’.

That’s right, carnival in Charlotte. It was the city’s first one. On Feb. 18, the Latin American Coalition hosted "A Night In Rio" to highlight our Brazilian community, said Jess George, the coalition's interim executive director.

The two dancing instigators were members of the Carolina Latin Dance Company, one of at least a dozen acts who performed during the celebration.

Posted: February 22nd, 2010 Ayofemi Kirby

A couple weeks ago, I was awakened by a man’s voice. I opened one eye and then the other, and was pleased to see that the voice I heard was coming from the television – and not from anywhere else.

The voice was that of a young man being interviewed about leading a congregation of "non believers” on his college campus. This young man said that he and other atheists should hold regular Sunday service and weekly gatherings like “believers“ do. But that the difference between his message and the messages of “believers” was that one did not need God to be good and that his word would always encourage others to be compassionate.


I believe in God, and as far back as I can remember, I always have. But, what troubled me from what I heard that night was not the increase of young atheists at colleges around the country, but that their perceptions of God did not include the compassion and goodness they seek.



It broke my heart to think that this young man felt like people gathering in houses of worship didn’t do so to serve a God of compassion or that God was as interested in a peaceful afterlife for his followers as he was in sharing a little piece of heaven right here on earth.

But, I could understand why he felt that way.

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Posted: February 22nd, 2010 Ayofemi Kirby

A few weeks ago, I was awakened by a man’s voice. I opened one eye and then the other, and was pleased to see thatthe voice I heard was coming from the television – and not from anywhere else.

The voice was that of a young man being interviewed about leading a congregation of "non believers” on his college campus.

This
young man said that he and other atheists should hold regular Sunday
service and weekly gatherings like “believers“ do. But that the
difference between his message and the messages of “believers” was that
one did not need God to be good and that his word wouldalways encourage others to be compassionate.

I
believe in God, and as far back as I can remember, I always have. But,
what troubled me from what I heard that night was not the increase of
young atheists at colleges around the country, but that their
perceptions of God did not include the compassion and goodness they
seek.

It broke
my heart to think that this young man felt like people gathering in
houses of worship didn’t do so to serve a God of compassion or that God
was as interested in a peaceful afterlife for his followers as he was
in sharing a little piece of heaven right here on earth.

But, I could understand why he felt that way.

Through
history people have done some horrific things in the name of God - in
fact, they still do. And my experience with “believers” has sometimes
led me to question God and the people who follow him.

So,
I could see the motivation behind starting a movement for those who
believed in their power to change the world for the better sans the
need or talk of a higher power.

But
on Valentine’s Day, I wish I could have invited this young man to join
me for the xChange Sermons service at Unity of Charlotte.

I
think this young man would have enjoyed walking in with me in his denim
jeans and being greeted with a smile he could see and feel.

I
think he would have appreciated reciting the church’s mission statement
to “inspire and empower spiritual living in a world awakening to the
power of love.”

I
believe he would have joined everyone in applause when a man named Fred
responded to a call for celebrations from the pulpit with “I got a job!”

I think he would have enjoyed reciting the morning’s prayer of oneness: “I forgive you. Forgive me. Thank you. I love you.”

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