June Eighteenth

On June 17th, the ELCA annually commemorates the martyrdom of the Emanuel 9, those saints of God of Mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, SC, who were viciously murdered by Dylan Roof. The ELCA not only

On June 19th, the nation celebrates Juneteenth, remembering when word of emancipation and the end of the war reached edge of the nation, freeing the enslaved people in Galveston Bay, Texas.

That these two days come so closely together could be seen as a coincidence of the calendar, and yet it calls us as Christians, especially those of us as members of the whitest denomination in the United States, to reflect on the ways in which racism operates in this nation. Freedom cannot be celebrated fully without recognizing the pain and terror people of color have suffered throughout our history, and continue to endure.

So what are we to do today, this day in-between commemorating the martyrs and celebrating the promise of freedom? What is the work to be done after repentance but before celebration?

Brenda Salter McNeil’s Roadmap to Reconciliation 2.0 is one of my go-to resources for thinking about reconciliation on a communal level. She notes that the process of reconciliation is often begun after a “catalytic event,” meaning “someone or something to push us out of our comfort zones and the isolated social enclaves that keep us alienated from other people and their differing perspectives.” For the ELCA, June 17th was, and should continue to be, a catalytic event pushing us to recognize the ways in which white supremacy is deeply rooted in our systems. In theological terms, we might call this an “apocalypse,” which in Greek means “lifting the veil.” For us an apocalypse is not the eschatological disaster of condemnation and destruction that some Christian voices claim the book of Revelation gives voice to; but rather, an apocalypse, including that which John records, is a term for when a new reality is uncovered. For me and my understanding, June 17th was an uncovering of a racism that resides at the foundation of our nation and our church but we refused to name. By this apocalypse, or uncovering, we can name it. And as the great Pennsylvanian theologian, Fred Rogers, once said, “anything that is mentionable can be more manageable.” Apocalypses and catalysts, despite popular uses, actually can make big things more manageable.

Salter McNeil notes that after a catalytic event communities have two paths to choose from: “preservation” of the status quo, which involves doubling down on our isolation; or “reconciliation,” which involves reaching out and stretching our understanding of the other and hard work of reparation and change.

That work of reconciliation is the work of June 18th. When we eschew the ways of white supremacy, but need to work out what that means and looks like in relationship to communities of color, we enter this process that is long and hard. It is a process that cannot be simply one day, or one event, or one churchwide memorial.

In Southwestern PA, we have tried to embody this process in our relationship with our local AME churches, especially Bethel AME. Our years long relationship, sparked by the apocalypse of June 17th, has included hard conversations and bumps along the way. And we are beginning to see glimpses of what reconciliation might look like.

LAMPa hopes that similar processes might be started through our Isaiah 58:12 Fellowship. By lifting up youth and young adults in our congregations, we hope that they serve as “catalytic” leaders, sparking change and the beginning of reconciliation in communities throughout Pennsylvania.

By starting these processes in our church and in our state, we believe that the Spirit will move to enact another apocalypse, one that uncovers and reveals the deep truth of God’s love and reign that reconciles all people to the heart of God. Once we can name that truth then we can participate fully in the celebration of freedom glimpsed on June 19th made real for all.