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What is Micah 6?
Micah 6 refers to the text of Hebrew and
Christian Scripture that records the message of the village
prophet Micah:
God has told you, O Adam - O human,
what is good; and what does the Lord require of you. . .
but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly
with your God?
Micah 6: 8
For the Bonner Foundation, Micah 6 is a
challenge for college students and congregations to serve
together, seeking local expressions of justice, service and
spiritual enrichment in their communities.
The Micah 6 Project originated in 1999 as
an initiative of the National Council of Churches and the
Bonner Foundation, through the NCC Economic Justice and Domestic
Hunger Program. Following a two-year pilot program, the NCC
continues working with Micah 6 congregations around the country,
and the Bonner Foundation continues to give support and guidance
to a network of college-based Micah 6 partnerships.
Goals
Inspired by the challenge of Scripture in
Micah 6, the goal of the Bonner Foundation’s Micah 6
initiative is to give support and guidance to colleges for
developing partnerships with local congregations, which engage
students in social justice, service, and spiritual enrichment.
Micah 6 Bonner partnerships support other
Bonner programs by pursuing creative ways for students and
communities to integrate many of the common commitments, which
have been identified in the Bonner Scholars and Bonner Leaders
Program: social justice, civic engagement, spiritual exploration,
community building, international perspective, and diversity.
How Micah
6 Began. . .
In 1999 the Bonner Foundation worked with
the National Council of Churches to develop the Micah 6 Pilot
Project, a program of NCC’s Economic Justice and Domestic
Hunger Ministry. The NCC Pilot Project identified 38 churches
and one college to develop models of Micah 6 ministries by
pursuing Micah’s challenge to do justice, love kindness,
and walk humbly with God.
Currently, NCC makes available a number
of Micah 6 resources for congregations who seek to integrate
worship and spiritual life with the call to service and social
justice. Resources include teaching materials, Micah 6 stories
and case studies, music, worship resources, devotional guides,
and children’s materials, all of which spring from the
biblical theme of Micah 6.
For these resources, search the NCC Micah
6 website: www.micah6.org.
During the pilot project, the Bonner Foundation
supported Rhodes College in developing a college-based model
for Micah 6, which would help students connect with congregations
for community projects and deepen spiritual inquiry and faith-based
reflection in a context of service and social justice.
Following the pilot period, the Bonner Foundation
established a Micah 6 grants program in order to give support
and guidance for additional college/congregation partnerships.
In the first two years of the program, the Bonner Foundation
awarded 20 college-based Micah 6 grants.
For More Information, Contact:
Billy Newton, Rhodes College Chaplain
Bonner Foundation Micah 6 Program Advisor
NCC Micah 6 Planning Team
e-mail: newton@rhodes.edu
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