When the Church Bell Rang Racist

Book excerpt: For centuries ringing bells have signaled the welcome of the Christian church to all who would hear its gospel. At certain times and in certain places, however, prejudice has led the church to limit its welcome to its own kind. The Southern white church during the civil rights movement fell victim to racial prejudice and its bells rang a welcome only for those who supported the segregated status quo. Donald E. Collins tells the story of the Alabama-West Florida Methodist Conference and its reactions to the civil rights movement.Part memoir and part historical analysis, Collins reflects on white Methodists' struggle to come to terms with their consciences in the face of racial change and the standards of Christianity's universal gospel. With events in Alabama during the civil rights movement as backdrop, Collins tells the story of the challenge that confronted the Methodist church during those stormy years. From the Montgomery Bus Boycott in 1955-1956 to the Selma march in 1965 and beyond, this narrative describes those struggles for change against the forces of resistance. Based on Collins's own experiences and those of the more than 55 Methodist ministers that he interviewed, this moving story is told with pride, pain, sorrow, and hope.