2020.06 | What’s Cookin’?
It’s Pentecost Season, Pride Month, Juneteenth is ‘round the corner. What’s that smell? JUSTICE, EQUITY, & SOLIDARITY! We’re building the Beloved Community together, one meal at a time!
***Special shoutouts for this month’s vlog go to @ashlandmarket | @mandelapartners | @iamcafe_ashland | check them out on Instagram!***
A prayer for you and yours:
O Giver of Life, we praise you. For you have breathed into the nostrils of Adam. We once but dust, adamah, you have enfleshed us, animated us, given us purpose, set before us plans for good, not of harm.
But we come before You with the wind knocked out of us; we come with anger and sadness and deep frustration. We gasp in solidarity, with George Floyd, Eric Garner, and so many other black and brown men and boys who suffer at the hands of unchecked police, bad actors in a system held too long unaccountable. We denounce the sin of white supremacy, of racism. A terrible disease, a contagious virus, contrary to your love and vision for the world. We exclaim the dignity of life, people are more than just a barcode. We call out to You, that You give us peace and strength to resist and dismantle systems of oppression that are killing our black brothers. We pray for humility that we might acknowledge our privilege and be resolute in our commitment to unlearn the tactics of white supremacy. That we might commit to the work of racial and economic justice today, and every day.
We pray for those who can’t breath, experiencing acute respiratory distress syndrome due to complications of COVID-19 and those whose windpipes are obstructed at the knees of white oppression.
When we celebrate the diversity and inclusion of all peoples at the festival of Pentecost, we echo the prophet, “let justice roll down like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream!” Send your Ru’ach, your breath to fill us with mishpat utzedekah, justice and righteousness. We ask in the name of your suffering servant who was murdered by the state, to comfort all those who mourn, and raise up all who are made low. And forever use us, your Church to those ends. Amen.
#BLACKLIVESMATTER
The senseless death of George Floyd in Minneapolis and other recent acts of brutality and murder of Black Americans has shaken our nation, indeed the world, to its core. We offer these resource for your information and discussion with friends and family, especially children and young people. If you have other resources that you have found helpful that you would like to share and/or be added to an annotated bibliography, please contact Pastor Arlene, Pastor Pepper, or Pastor Marvin.
Recent articles & videos for Older Youth & Adults:
If You Want to Learn About Anti-Racism, These 10 Books Are a Start (start here ;)
Just Mercy the movie is streaming free now on Amazon Prime
13th is a powerful documentary now available on Netflix
White Fragility an essay by Robin DiAngelo
"Who Gets to be Afraid in America?" an essay by Ibram X. Kendi
"75 Things White People Can Do For Racial Justice" as published on Medium
Reimagining Policing in the Wake of Continued Police Violence: President Obama’s town hall focusing on George Floyd’s death"
The Cross and the Lynching Tree by James H. Cone
Stakes Is High: Race, Faith, and Hope for America by Rev. Michael W. Waters
How to Be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi
Resources for Parents:
CNN is teaming up with Sesame Street to host a town hall on Saturday, Jun 6 at 10 am ET addressing racism. Van Jones and Big Bird will moderate, with guests such as Dr. Beverly Daniel Tatum and Dr. Jennifer Harvey for a real talk with parents and kids about racism.
Click here for a story time featuring: "Something Happened in our Town: A Children's Story About Injustice.
The SALT Project put together this Emmy-nominated short film, "Get Home Safely: 10 Rules of Survival" to talk to kids about what to do if stopped by the police. This short was produced in partnership with Trinity UCC in Chicago
Coretta Scott King Book Award Winners: Books for children and young adults
31 Children's books to support conversations on race, racism and resistance
For Beautiful Black Boys Who Believe in a Better World by Rev. Michael W. Waters