While the threat of rain drove us inside, our 2023 Porch Talk was a success! Heights Christian Church (HCC) partnered with East View UCC and Plymouth UCC to present a talk by the Rev. Dr. Marvin McMickle to the community of Shaker Heights and greater Cleveland. Begun in 2019 by HCC alone, this annual event continues the call to racial and social justice described by the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. when he spoke from the steps of the church in 1965. His visit was not without controversy — when some members of the congregation heard he had been invited to speak at their church, they announced it was time to renovate the sanctuary and remove the pews. Undeterred, other congregational leaders arranged for him to speak from the church porch, which resulted in many more people able to see and hear him. There were protests and police presence, but his words carried the day and continue to inspire.
Two years ago HCC sold their building to East View UCC and moved to nest within Plymouth UCC. Now the three congregations work together to offer this annual event in the same location. On August 12, 2023, our keynote speaker, Dr. McMickle, spoke on “No Room at the Inn, part 2” and described the many ways we still sing “We Shall Overcome,” because the work towards justice and equity has not been completed. He said, “It occurs to me that I have been singing that song for over sixty-years. Today I got stuck on the word ‘shall.’ For sixty years I have been singing about an aspiration that somehow, someday we “shall overcome. Why are we still singing about freedom as an aspiration? Why have we not overcome already? Here is the current crisis in American society. Part of the population is hoping to overcome the problems of the past, while another segment of our society is nostalgic for that past.” He read from the book of Esther and spoke of being alive in “such a time as this,” declaring that we have work to do to continue to realize King’s dream of Beloved Community.
Dr. McMickle is a resident of Shaker Heights and an American Baptist minister who has served at Antioch Baptist Church in Cleveland, and as President of Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School. He taught homiletics at Ashland Seminary (where he taught several current Disciples pastors). A nationally renowned author and speaker, he has published 14 books on preaching, liberation theology and contemporary ministry. His more recent book, Let the Oppressed Go Free explores theologies of liberation, and of it, Dwight Hopkins, University of Chicago, writes: “No one has ever written such a thorough and many-sided approach to liberation theologies. Not only is the scholarship profound, but Dr. McMickle’s unique life has intertwined with the majors leaders in each of these movements.”
A combined choir with members of all three congregations sang We Shall Overcome, He Is Exalted, and led the audience in singing Amazing Grace. A reception followed the presentation. HCC is grateful for the opportunity to partner with neighboring congregations and for the enthusiastic response by the community. Stay tuned as plans progress for our 2024 Porch Talk!
Rev. Dr. Kate Gillooly
Minister, Heights Christian Church
Pictured Above:
- Rev. Roger Osgood, Pastor Emeritus HCC; Dr. Kate Gillooly, Minister with HCC; Rev. Jeremy Wanton, Sr. Pastor East View UCC
- Porch Talk 2023 moved inside the sanctuary because of rain
- Rev. Dr. Marvin McMickle, this year’s speaker