{"product_id":"building-beloved-communities-the-life-and-work-of-rev-dr-paul-smith-9780820359618","title":"Building Beloved Communities: The Life and Work of Rev. Dr. Paul Smith","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eBuilding Beloved Communities\u003c\/i\u003e traces the life of Rev. Dr. Paul Smith (b. 1935), an iconoclastic black minister who has channeled his civil rights work into establishing multi-racial churches in four cities--Buffalo, NY; Atlanta, GA; St. Louis, MO; Brooklyn, NY--over a six-decade career. Following the lead of his mentor, Dr. Howard Thurman (who was also a key influence on Martin Luther King Jr.), Smith has concentrated on building thriving multicultural congregations to create the sorts of communities envisioned by King and others. \u003cbr\u003eIn 1979, he became the first black minister of all-white Hillside Presbyterian Church in Decatur, Georgia, making him a unique leader among the 4,000 Presbyterian congregations in the United States. In 1986, he was elected the first African American pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Brooklyn Heights, New York. Throughout his ministry in various churches, he has consciously moved his congregations toward being explicitly multi-cultural and multi-racial, as well as more politically active and welcoming of LGBTQ communities. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eHendrickson examines his pastoral care and his increased work with corporations, colleges, and charitable foundations. \u003ci\u003eBuilding Beloved Communities\u003c\/i\u003e details the complicated life of a man dedicated to serving as a bridge between Christianity, community activism, public health institutions, and the business world. \u003cbr\u003eBased on archival research, historical analysis, and original interviews with Smith and his colleagues, Hildi Hendrickson offers a critical biography of the preacher and his work from the 1960s to the present.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e University of Georgia Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 07\/15\/2021\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780820359618\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 296","brand":"Hildi Hendrickson","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":40239907274933,"sku":"9780820359618","price":31.41,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0473\/0804\/6492\/products\/img_080cca48-7b9f-42d2-9918-f64320fe01ad.jpg?v=1623726698","url":"https:\/\/pastforward.org\/products\/building-beloved-communities-the-life-and-work-of-rev-dr-paul-smith-9780820359618","provider":"Past Forward","version":"1.0","type":"link"}