NOTE: Worship on Sunday, June 30, will be at 3pm in the Sanctuary, for Jaz Buchanan’s ordination service. We will not have 10am worship that Sunday.
Three years ago this month, Juneteenth became a federal holiday, following many months of nationwide protests against police brutality against Black people. While many of us have seen increased awareness of Juneteenth, I wonder how many of us are familiar with the holiday or have actively celebrated it.
Juneteenth commemorates June 19, 1865, when some 2,000 Union troops arrived in Galveston Bay, in the western reaches of the then confederate state of Texas, and announced that the more than 250,000 enslaved black people in the state were free by executive decree. This day came to be known as “Juneteenth.“
Early Juneteenth celebrations included prayer and family gatherings. Later, former enslaved people and their families would make annual pilgrimages to Galveston. Since then, celebrations have taken place among families in backyards with food playing a central role. Some cities, like Atlanta and Washington, hold parades and festivals.
On Sunday, we will dig into our own understanding of Juneteenth, how it relates to the liberation story of Exodus, how it calls us as a nation to confession and repentance and how God calls us to live more fully into the promise of liberation.
We will also bless our new African-American Hymnals and baptize two of the youngest among us!
In faith,
Kent
