For several years I have had an idea of wanting to share ideas for teaching “macro” concepts in social work education, as well as ideas that might be helpful for people leading community dialogues on sensitive and critical issues. So… I finally decided to take the plunge and start this blog. In noodling around for a title, I landed on “Teaching (toward) the Beloved Community”. Ever since I read about the Beloved Community, I have been committed to teaching students about it and working intentionally to try to live out the principles. The term was first used by theologian/philosopher Josiah Royce and made more well known Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (The King Center, nd). For Dr. King, one of the central principles of the Beloved Community was agape love, or love for everyone. As noted on the King Center website, one expression of agape love in Dr. King’s Beloved Community is justice, not for any one oppressed group, but for all people. My hope with creating this space is to be an encouragement, resource space and idea generator for people who are also working toward the creation of the Beloved Community.