For Christians, the season of Lent is a time of a renewed and intense focus on their faith. Many traditions have the practice of giving something up for Lent as a way of “making space” for spiritual growth and reflection. Others have the tradition of taking on new spiritual disciplines to help people delve deeper into their beliefs and practices.

This Lent, the Madison Avenue Presbyterian Church in New York City did a bit of both. For busy New Yorkers, spending several hours of time each Sunday afternoon to watch and discuss a documentary film at church was definitely a Lenten discipline of giving up something precious! But it was also a moving and powerful experience of taking something on: the experience of being inspired and challenged by the famous individuals and unknown thousands who brought down the evil system of apartheid in South Africa. Their story is told in the extraordinary documentary film series, Have You Heard from Johannesburg?

The film is broken into seven episodes, each focusing on a different aspect of the history of the global anti-apartheid movement. The program at Madison Avenue Church chose four. Each week, participants watched the chosen episode (each was about 60-90 minutes), reflected on a passage of Scripture in light of the film, and then discussed the ways in which religious belief and practice were in many ways the heartbeat of the anti-apartheid movement. So, for example, while considering the episode in which Oliver Tambo flees the South Africa secret police to begin the global resistance movement in exile, they read the passage in which Jesus sends his disciples out to call everyone to repentance, saying “Take nothing for your journey, no staff, nor bag, nor bread, nor money-- not even an extra tunic. Whatever house you enter, stay there, and leave from there. Wherever they do not welcome you, as you are leaving that town shake the dust off your feet as a testimony against them” (Luke 9:3-5). This provoked an extraordinary discussion about the ways in which we are called by our faith to go out into the world and rely on the power of our message rather than the extent of our material resources to do the work God calls us to take up.

The impact on the participants was profound. “It encouraged us to review our personal dedication to our faith and our willingness to devote time and energy to important causes, even when personal risks may be involved,” said one participant. Another made a more specific connection: “What civil rights was to the 20th century, immigration is to the 21st. The challenge is to find effective ways to press the issues in a nonviolent way.”  And many others agreed that this film was not just a stimulating learning experience, but a provocation to consider how Christians can and should provide public leadership on the pressing moral conflicts of the day.

Clearly, Have You Heard From Johannesburg? is a powerful resource for troubling the waters and healing the world. Auburn is honored and delighted to be working with Active Voice and Clarity Films in making this film available to local congregations. If you are interested in learning more, please contact the Rev. J.C. Austin, Director of the Center for Christian Leadership, at JAustin@AuburnSeminary.org.