Minister Dorothy Johnson directs Path to Peace Choir at its first concert in 2018 at the Eastern Shore Art Center.

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Racial tensions were high. Distrust was widespread. Avenues of communication were broken.

In 2016 a group of pastors from Baldwin County recognized that racial tensions were mounting as communities grappled with emotions as the number of black people killed by officers increased across the nation.

Those pastors held a joint worship service at the Daphne Civic Center. That service grew into a community of people who meet regularly to discuss shared interests, and in turn, are learning to communicate and appreciate each other.

"At first we started doing worship services together, but people were not getting to know each other. They were just going their separate ways. We needed to figure out a way to get people together on a social basis to know each other," said Dan Hanson, of Path to Peace.

Now, the Path to Peace movement gives individuals from across all faiths and backgrounds the opportunity to craft friendships through events and activities. The program falls under the umbrella of Ecumenical Ministries, Inc and EMI's Community Development Program called All Churches Together (ACT-II).

"Path to Peace leaders believe politicians cannot heal racism of the heart," Hanson said. "It is healed as people build personal relationships. They believe that when racism-of-the-heart melts away systemic injustices, such as economic and judicial disparities, will evaporate as well."

Though the quarantines imposed during the 2020 spread of COVID-19 made it difficult for many of the groups to meet, Path to Peace is kickstarting its interest groups again, dubbed Connect Groups by the organization. They include art, golf, writing, photography, healthy cooking and more.

"They might sit around and talk about photography, but the theory is they get to know each other, and the racism of the heart evaporates as people get to know each other," Hanson said. "That is what we're tackling."

The Path to Peace Choir is another outgrowth of the Path to Peace movement. The choir is a racially mixed assembly of performers who now also have a booming request line for community events.

They kick off the fall season this weekend with their first concert since 2020 on Sunday, Aug. 21, at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in Daphne. The hour-long, free performance begins at 4 p.m. The choir is under the direction of Jason Pears, director of the music program at Christian Valley Missionary Baptist Church in Fairhope and Dorothy Johnson, music director at New Jerusalem Pentecostal Holiness Church in Bay Minette.

The choir is also scheduled to perform at the Nov. 4 art walk at the Eastern Shore Arts Center in Fairhope and during the Live Christmas Nativity in Fairhope on Sunday, Dec. 11.

For more information about Path to Peace, contact Hanson at (251) 928-3430.
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