Juneteenth and Christianity

Yesterday was Juneteenth. If you have no idea what that means, I understand why; "Juneteenth" is a word I'd never seen until a few years ago. This isn't a holiday that was celebrated around me growing up—or that I even knew existed.

Juneteenth celebrates the emancipation of enslaved people in the United States. On June 19th in 1865, the enslaved people of Texas were finally emancipated when Union Major General Gordon Granger was able to enforce the Emancipation Proclamation there. Today, Juneteenth is primarily celebrated in African American communities with parades, street fairs, cookouts, and music festivals.

The Juneteenth Flag

As it turns out, "freeing the slaves" was a lot more complicated than I learned in history class. I was taught that President Abraham Lincoln made the Emancipation Proclamation in 1862, and then all enslaved people in the United States were free. In reality, it took several more years for the country to be reunited and the last of enslaved people to be set free. And even then, that "freedom" had an asterisk with some pretty heavy caveats.

As Christians, we bear a particular responsibility with respect to this history. For four hundred years, most Christians weaponized the Bible against enslaved people as a justification for keeping them enslaved. See, for example, the instruction: "Slaves, obey your earthly masters" (Ephesians 6:5, Colossians 3:22). Such verses became the cornerstones on which Christians built a theology that "allowed" them to do the worst kinds of violence against other human beings.

(Slaveholders even gave enslaved people a mutilated version of the Bible, to uphold their supremacy. Specifically, they removed the parts of Exodus that show God to be a God of liberation.)

This wasn't me personally who did this, and it certainly wasn't you.

But white Christians, especially in the United States, have a responsibility to recognize the irreparable damage created under the auspices of the our sacred Bible. We have to seek healing and reconciliation for the harm our Christian forebears caused in the name of our loving and life-giving God. God yearns for that justice to permeate our lives and our society.

The Episcopal Church in Connecticut calls our engagement in this work as a diocese Racial Healing, Justice, and Reconciliation. Click there for more information and the resources that ministry network has compiled.

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For more about the ongoing struggle for Black liberation in the United States, I recommend the following resources:

"Why you should stop saying 'all lives matter,' explained in 9 different ways" (article) by German Lopez. This article is a simple, effective explanation of a well-known and sometimes controversial phrase: Black lives matter.

The 13th (movie) on Netflix or YouTube. This movie examines how the 13th Amendment, which guarantees freedom from slavery "except as a punishment for crime," has transformed into a new form of enslavement: mass incarceration.

The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness (book) by Michelle Alexander. This book traces the permutation of the "Jim Crow" laws that defined formal segregation, even in an age when many of us assumed that racism was over.

Proud to Support Pride

When the flag hit the top of the flagpole, my eyes filled with tears. Underneath our American flag, there was now another one: the LGBTQIA+ pride flag. I looked out over the small gathered crowd of about 35 people. Some of the faces were familiar but others were new to me, and all were tilted up to look at the new flag flying in front of our church. It was a simple but beautiful moment.

Philadelphia LGBTQIA+ Pride Flag outside St. Paul's

For too long, churches have been sites of rejection for people whose gender or sexuality put them on the wrong side of society’s norms. But now churches are increasingly understanding the diversity of genders and sexualities to be gifts from God.

As Christians, we promise in our baptismal vows to “strive for justice and peace among all people, and respect the dignity of every human being.” Jesus teaches us to seek out the most vulnerable people and show them God’s love (see, for example, Mark 1:40-45, Luke 6:20, Luke 14:13-14, John 5:1-15). In our society, LGBTQIA+ people are some of the most vulnerable.

2021 Pride in Southington

A pride celebration in Southington is a joyful way to connect LGBTQIA+ residents with one another, and to show them that they are loved and appreciated. This is especially important for LGBTQIA+ youth, who are at increased risk of suicide and mental illness. Those risks are worsened by contexts where they don't feel supported for who they are.

We believe that God loves us all—no exceptions. For more on the story of LGBTQIA+ people in the Episcopal Church, check out LGBTQ in the Church.

Did you know?

You may expect the Pride flag to have six colors of the rainbow, but ours is a little different.

In 2017, the Philadelphia Office of LGBTQ affairs released this new version of the flag. The black and brown stripes were added to highlight the activism of Black, Latine, and indigenous people. Within the LGBTQIA+ movement, those groups have often led the way. But they’ve also faced discrimination in the very spaces they worked to build. Including these two colors on the flag is a way to acknowledge the work of people of color, and to commit to true inclusivity for all.

Whom Shall We Be?

“Whoa, something's happening,” my husband said, looking at his phone. We turned on the news. A monument to democracy was being breached by a violent mob.

An Axios poll this week showed that 4 in 5 Americans believe the country is falling apart. For too long, we've ignored the gaping wounds that plague our nation and originate in white supremacy. These wounds prevent us from achieving the ideals set out by our founders: that we are all created equal, free and beloved by God.

Luckily, our faith can offer guidance through challenging times like this one—and even some hope.

Presiding Bishop Michael Curry, as usual, speaks the truth our world needs to hear. He reminds us to choose community. Chaos, violence, and hatred are not God’s way.

Disciples of Jesus are called to work for justice and healing in our world. We're compelled to seek love. But the love Jesus teaches is not a squishy, sentimental love; we can only understand this love in the context of the cross. Bishop Curry's explanation of what "love" looks like at a time such as this is poignant:

Presiding Bishop Michael Curry addresses the nation on Jan. 8, 2021.

He reminds us: “In moments of danger, a decision must be made.” What decision will we make? Whom shall we be? Will we be healers, givers, builders of community? Or will we sow seeds of division and anger?

The latter is certainly easier. But Jesus calls on us to choose the former.

The prayer that keeps coming to my mind is one attributed to St. Francis of Assisi. You can find it in many places, including page 833 of our Book of Common Prayer. Say this prayer with me this week. Let’s be the beacons of God’s love—the only thing that can heal our world:

Lord, make us instruments of your peace. Where there is hatred, let us sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is discord, union; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; where there is sadness, joy. Grant that we may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand; to be loved as to love. For it is in giving that we receive; it is in pardoning that we are pardoned; and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. Amen.

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You can read more about The Episcopal Church's response to last week's events here.

Read the Episcopal Church in Connecticut's 2020 resolution "Acknowledging & Confronting Systemic Racism, White Supremacy, & Anti-Black Bias" here.