Beloved Community

The “Beloved Community” is a vision articulated by Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. of a global society built on justice, equity, peace, and unconditional love (agape), where everyone’s full potential is realized, poverty and racism are eliminated, and humanity lives in harmony, requiring both inner transformation and systemic change for its creation. 

In many ways Beloved Community is another way to describe what Jesus called the Kingdom of God. Following Jesus’ way means practicing radical kindness and compassion today just as Jesus did when he walked on earth. Jesus’ love transcends cultural and tribal divisions. G.K. Chesterton said it this way: Beloved Community “has not been tried and found wanting; it has been found difficult and not tried.”

Beloved Community is not just a friendly-sounding phrase. Beloved Community is a calling that leads to action for the common good. Among other things, building Beloved Community is an antidote to the toxicity of politics and culture in America.

We are prayerfully committed to building the Beloved Community within each of our individual selves, in our relationships with others, in our congregational life, and eventually in the whole world.

Core Principles of the Beloved Community

  • Justice & Equity: A world without poverty, hunger, or discrimination, where resources are shared.
  • Love & Understanding: Replacing hate and fear with agape love, even for oppressors, fostering genuine connection.
  • Interconnectedness: Recognizing that the well-being of one is tied to the well-being of all, strengthening the whole.
  • Peaceful Conflict Resolution: Resolving disputes through nonviolence and reconciliation, not hatred.
  • Full Human Potential: Creating conditions where every individual can thrive and become fully themselves. 

How to Build the Beloved Community

  • Inner Transformation: Through a transformative experience of faith, individuals can cultivate kindness, compassion, and love.
  • Systemic Change: Implementing policies in education, healthcare, housing, and law to support inclusive communities.
  • Action & Service: Engaging in active efforts for justice and serving humanity. 

Adapted in part from CBF Virginia, Cultivating Beloved Community