Berry students, faculty and staff recently participated in Be Love Week, a week-long event celebrating service and conversation in the spirit of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Consistent with Martha Berry’s motto, “not to be ministered unto, but to minister,” Be Love Week is a campaign, organized by the Office of Belonging and Community engagement, where the Berry community mobilizes our Good Neighbor Culture to serve in the Rome community. The week begins on Martin Luther King Jr. Day with a community gathering that honors the life and mission of Dr. King and continues with daily lectures and opportunities designed to help students learn how to make a difference.
“Dr. King believed that justice at its best is power correcting everything that stands against love,” said student Mykelle Patterson, the support manager at the Office of Belonging and Community Engagement. “We, as a student body, are reminded that we have the power and ability to love through listening and through serving.”
The week kicked off with a lecture from Grammy-award winner Lecrae. Lecrae shared with students and the Rome community about the power of overcoming adversity and breaking the mold. After the lecture, many students volunteered in the Rome community at locations such as Harborview Nursing Home, Davies Farm and Restoration Rome.
During the following days, numerous lectures and panels about caregiving, global health, peace and other important topics.
The caregiving panel featured various experts, including leader of the Rosalynn Carter Institute for Caregivers, Josh Carter.
In addition to Josh Carter, the panel was comprised of Inclusive Learning Program Director Michelle Haney, National Alliance of Mental Illness Rome spokesperson Bonnie Moore and Amber Grace representative Julia Morrison. Amber Grace is a 24/7 care community that provides services to adults with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities on the Berry campus. The community will welcome residents in the spring.
“I think the reason that this particular issue has so many other stories is because everybody comes from it,” Josh Carter said. “Everyone knows a caregiver, everyone is a caregiver and everyone has a caregiving story.”
At the end of the week, the Beloved Community Celebration took place, where students and the local community were invited to share their own perspectives and reflect on the week with conversations that acknowledge injustice and promote love.
For more information about the Office of Belonging and Community Engagement, please visit https://www.berry.edu/student-life/diversity-belonging.
Written by Public Relations Student Associate Cammie Wilks
