In the Midst

In the Midst is a multimedia documentary project focusing on the lives of liberal American Presbyterian missionaries and their far-reaching work. Now in their late 80s and early 90s, these individuals studied the then-radical philosophies of theologians such as Paul Tillich, Reinhold Niebuhr, and Mahatma Gandhi. They vowed to live simply, in the midst of the poor, whether they were in rural Tennessee, New Haven, Connecticut, or Rajpur, India. They let what they identified as The Holy Spirit move them to bring pacifism, ecumenicism, and social justice with them wherever they lived. Their influence reaches from the rural Indian villagers with whom they worked through the boarding schools they administered to their own children and grandchildren, many of whom have chosen to continue working in the midst of poverty and injustice to enact positive social change. These elders link Christian gospel to social justice. They trace their history back to American abolitionism. They want their stories heard at a moment when right-wing fundamentalists struggle to shape political agendas around the world.

Rev. Robert C. Alter