What kind of community do we want to be?

There is so much to love about Fernandina Beach and Amelia Island. We have a lively downtown with good restaurants. We have a historic Black beach community that preserves history and culture in its own museum. We have a lovely history museum in a former jail that teaches about our eight flags. We have theaters and concerts and local musicians nightly. We have art, lots of art, which is my jam. I haven’t even mentioned our 13 miles of pristine beach on the Atlantic Ocean or our state parks or the riverfront sunsets or our shrimping industry. No place is 100% perfect, but Amelia Island comes close, in my view. There is an area of our life together to which I would draw your attention, with some insight from my own experience.

My early efforts to be involved in the religious community were not fruitful. At the time of my arrival, there was only one other white clergywoman working locally. I did not feel particularly welcome in the clergy group. When I suggested the group get more involved in local social issues, I was told they met for “fellowship.” The emphasis was on “fellow.” My husband is a Unitarian Universalist minister and that did not win any points.

I knew my previous experience in a diverse religious context would not be replicated here. I had hoped for a little more inclusive attitude on the part of others who shared my vocation. However, I sensed that the community as a whole embraced diversity in a laid-back way with a “live and let live” attitude. In recent years, the “downtown” churches have formed a vibrant alliance. Diversity flourishes on the staff of the churches. Joint activities and celebrations gain more and more participation and support.

I was concerned to read in a recent article submitted to the News Leader (published May 7, 2025, page 6b) about a clergy and spouses gathering that was not inclusive and whose spiritual aims could be construed as divisive. I came to this conclusion because the article stated the participants prayed for God “… to restore the seven mountains of influence in our culture.” This is a reference to a far-right branch within evangelical Christianity that follows the Seven Mountain Mandate. This way of thinking is also called “dominionism.” Their theological underpinnings justify their thinking with what they read into the biblical text rather than drawing out the text’s original context and meaning. The thinking came into being in the 1970s through what the founders say was a religious vision for taking back the culture for Christianity. The ideas came into prominence in 2013 with the publication of the book by Lance Wallnau and Bill Johnson, "Invading Babylon: The Seven Mountain Mandate."

The seven “mountains” or areas for influence are family, religion, education, business, entertainment, media and government.

This way of thinking is woven into the Project 2025 document and supports the dissolution of the separation between church and state. They seek to impose their version of Christianity on these seven areas of society in order to bring about God’s kingdom on earth and the end of times.

This way of thinking flies in the face of the First Amendment’s protections for citizens to pursue any religion or no religion. They hold firmly to the belief that this country was founded by Christians to be a Christian nation. Even more troubling is that influential members of the president’s cabinet are proponents of this view, as is the president’s personal pastor, Paula White and Speaker of the House, Mike Johnson. The aim of this thinking is to homogenize our nation into one that is white, Christian and nationalist into one superior group and with everyone else in another. The local article listed our congressman as a participant in the prayer group, but he was not in the group photo.

How could this potentially affect Fernandina?

• Will our more vulnerable citizens be unable to count on the benefits and programs that support them?
• Will the laws that protect our fragile barrier island’s environment be repealed?
• Will the will of big businesses get their way over local governance?
• Will our residents who are part of a marginalized group feel unwanted or afraid to freely participate in the community?

These and other questions trouble me as I look into what this group espouses. There is another published list of right beliefs to ascribe to in order to participate in a Christian Heritage parade just before July 4. Unquestioning support for a morally repugnant leader is dismissed with the reasoning that God is using him to bring about divine purposes.

Kristen du Mez is a historian and professor of history at Calvin College. She wrote in a recent Substack article that those who disagree with a group's justifications see any criticism leveled against that group to be spiritual warfare. She concludes, “There is no cognitive dissonance when your entire worldview is built on confirmation bias masquerading as divine discernment.”

Those of Judeo-Christian belief and those of no particular belief need to seriously consider and speak up for the kind of community we want to have on our island.