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The Work of Reconciliation in Kansas City: An Interview with Fr. Justin Mathews

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SVOTS

Priest Justin Mathews (Class of ’07) works along the “dividing line” of Kansas City, MO—Troost Avenue. He is the executive director of Reconciliation Services, an organization working to help address the wounds from generations of racial and economic inequality in the surrounding neighborhood.

 Fr Justin MathewsFr Justin Mathews

The kind of hardship and suffering found there, Fr. Justin points out—which can also be found in cities throughout the United States—is heart-wrenching.

“The rates of trauma and PTSD in the urban neighborhoods in the United States that are crippled under gun violence and debilitating social issues...approach that of veterans returning home from war,” he said. “It is a warzone.”

 

 

In a candid and moving interview with St. Vladimir’s Seminary’s Ginny Nieuwsma, Fr. Justin explains how he got to Troost Avenue, what lies behind the particular brokenness there—and in America in general—and what Orthodox Christian communities everywhere can learn from it. 

Hear the full interview below.

This Giving Tuesday, December 1, 2020, St. Vladimir’s Seminary is tithing 10% of funds donated to the Seminary that day to Reconciliation Services’ ministry. Click HERE to donate.

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Previous Alumni News:

Title Author Date
The Work of Reconciliation in Kansas City: An Interview with Fr. Justin Mathews SVOTS November 23, 2020
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