Juneteenth
...and the true shall make you free.
Yesterday was Juneteenth. Although I am publishing this a day late, it's still fitting to consider what Juneteenth means for us as Christians.
In the Book of Common Prayer we find our Collect For Social Justice (p. 260). It reads:
Almighty God, who created us in your own image: Grant us grace fearlessly to contend against evil and to make no peace with oppression; and, that we may reverently use our freedom, help us to employ it in the maintenance of justice in our communities and among the nations, to the glory of your Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Lest someone think this prayer is a new-fangled child of the 1960s and only showed up late in our prayer books, it's worth pointing out that this prayer was included in the earlier 1928 Book of Common Prayer. Even more: striving for social justice has been integral to the life of the Church from the beginning. There are many stories of saints of the early church selling off possessions or raiding the church treasury to emancipate slaves. Because Christians make no peace with oppression.
As the Episcopal Church's Office of Government Relations (OGR) reminds us, Juneteenth commemorates June 19, 1865, when Union troops arrived in Galveston, Texas, and announced that more than 250,000 enslaved Black people in Texas were free, more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation. Over 150 years later, Congress designated Juneteenth as a federal holiday in 2021.
The site encourages us to advocate for justice this Juneteenth:
For the Episcopal Church, Juneteenth is not only a day of remembrance. It is a summon to truth-telling, repair, and faithful public witness. We honor the joy of freedom while also acknowledging that emancipation was delayed, contested, and incomplete. The legacies of slavery continue to shape racial disparities in wealth, health, housing, incarceration, migration, and political power.
As followers of Jesus, we reject every theology and political movement that baptizes racial hierarchy, white supremacy, domination, or Christian nationalism. Our faith calls us instead toward Beloved Community: a society where every person bears the full dignity of being made in the image of God and where public policy protects the freedom and flourishing of all.
As one way to mark this year’s holiday, you are invited to act by using the following action alerts that call upon Congress to address racial injustice and create a society where the dignity and freedom of all are fully respected.
I invite you to browse the recommendations on their webpage and consider how you, and how we at St. Mary's, can continue to advocate for justice for those who need it most.
