Pastor Renita Green pens book on being the light

The Rev. Renita Green, pastor of St. James AME Church in Cape Girardeau, is passionate about outreach to people of color and the poor. Her new book, “This Little Light of Mine,” details some of her journey to that outreach.

“It’s an autobiography of sorts,” Green said, and describes a portion of her story: what it was like being raised in an abusive, racist home, emerging from that, and finding her way to a path of healing.

“This story is about working through that and finding a place of peace and reunderstanding myself in God’s creation and God’s purpose in my life,” Green said.

This book is a prequel of sorts to a larger piece, “Unbecoming,” due out in early fall.

Green said she’s studied up on the subject, and learned that people who survive trauma tend to either be crushed by the experience or become very passionate about working for good.

The Rev. Renita Greens' book, "This Little Light of Mine," about growing up in an abusive home and emerging from it, is available now.Submitted

That motivated her to begin writing her story, she said, as did her experience raising Black children.

“There are things I didn’t do right, parenting,” Green said. Her children had problems at school, some racially charged, she said, and the emotional load of fighting that was so heavy, Green referred to it as “chaos.”

“That’s how children get lost,” she said. “Parents are flabbergasted and lost, and don’t have the tenacity to advocate for their own child.”

That leads to unnecessary suffering — another point Green is passionate about working toward eradicating.

“In many places, Scriptures call us to a place to do justice, love and mercy, to walk humbly with God,” Green said, adding that her time in Cape Girardeau has been healing for her, bringing the mercy piece into her life where that had been lacking in her approach to people she didn’t agree with.

This book describes that journey, she said, from contempt for people who were good people but did not understand, to a place of advocating for justice and abiding love to help bridge the gap of disagreement into common ground, to grow community.

“We can’t tear each other down and build community. Community is where our power is,” Green said. “A lot of wrongs need to be righted, but we need each other to do that.”

When “Unbecoming” is released later this year, Green said, that book will be a closer look at some systems that have created hardship and pain for Black people in this country, and how those systems are still very much alive.

Of the book’s title, Green said, “Part of what light should do is reproduce itself. The goal is not for any of us to be the brightest one, but to attract more light.”

“This Little Light of Mine” is available on Amazon.com as an e-book or paperback. A virtual book signing is planned for July 10. Green will post details to her Facebook page in the next couple of weeks, she said.