Most Christians around the world celebrate EPIPHANY on January 6th, the last of 12 days of Christmas. Epiphany is a holy day and a feast day to remember the journey of the Magi who followed a star in order to find a child, a new king who would have a powerful effect on the entire world beyond Palestine and Judea. When they found the child whose name was Jesus (‘God saves’), they knelt down and honored him (some translations say they ‘worshiped’ him). As part of their recognition of the world-wide significance of this new king, the magi presented Jesus with valuable gifts: gold (for tribute), frankincense (for worship), and myrrh (for perfume, anointing, healing, and embalming). In this way they recognized and affirmed the decisive significance for all nations of the sovereignty or royalty, the divinity or deity, the healing ministry, and the eventual death and burial of this new king, the Anointed One of God.
This Epiphany we invite and encourage you to JOIN US or continue with us on our journey - a shared journey to justice in which we are together led by the light of God’s vision for us, a vision of a new world based on love, justice, peace, equity, and sustainability. When faithfully followed, this vision leads us more fully into a loving and liberating relationship with the One who proclaimed, lived, and died for this vision, a vision of the reign of God ‘on earth as it is in heaven.’ This reign will come and yet is already here when spaces are prepared in different contexts and diverse situations for its present manifestation within and among us.
Again, we invite and encourage you to JOIN US or continue with us on this shared journey to justice.
NATIONAL DAY of MOURNING
For Indigenous peoples in the United States, today is not a day of thanksgiving. It is instead a National Day of Mourning - a day for remembering with collective pain and deep personal sadness the horrors of continuous victimization in the forms of deception, theft, ethnic cleansing, dehumanization, demonization, destruction, murder, rape, torture, and genocide. It is not a day for giving thanks for the ‘blessings’ enjoyed by either the European colonizers who committed these terrible crimes against other human beings or the unrepentant descendants of these colonizers who have continued to benefit from - and blasphemously praise God for - the ‘bounty’ left to them by the heinous acts of their ancestors.
And so, DJAN gives thanks today not for the ‘blessings’ or ‘bounty’ enjoyed by some because of the injustices and abuses suffered by others; but rather for the resiliency of spirit and dignity among indigenous peoples; for their righteous demand for greater justice for all, including Mother Earth; and for the opportunity that a gracious God allows for all of us, with heart-felt repentance, to truthfully confess our participation in and benefit from the injustices suffered by others, to authentically demonstrate our repentance through reparative action, and to humbly seek the forgiveness that, through reconciliation based on justice, holds the redemptive promise that potentially allows us to enter into new liberating and sustaining forms of solidarity and community between all siblings in Christ, between all peoples on the earth, between human beings and the earth, and between humanity and God.
Then, and only then, can we truly and authentically and rightfully declare and celebrate a day of Thanksgiving that includes everyone. May it be so!
FOLLOW UP
Some further thoughts: If a Thanksgiving event is to be - or even can be - celebrated at all, it must be one that is existentially authentic and eschatologically oriented. It must be an honest, heart-felt, and future-oriented meal that includes the following in relation to all persons and peoples, but, on this particular occasion, primarily to indigenous persons and peoples: (1) a current acknowledgement of and repentance for participation in and/or benefitting from the horrendous history of theft, murder, rape, ethnic cleansing, massacre, slavery, genocide, and forced whitenization, (2) a recognition and celebration of the goodness, kindness, and generosity of indigenous peoples, as well as their courage and resiliency of spirit demonstrated by their continuing survival in a nation dedicated to their total destruction, (3) a continuing commitment to real and meaningful reparative action, (4) gratitude for and celebration of the possibilities for reconciliation under the conditions of a just and equitable restructuring of personal, communal, and institutional relationships, and (5) based on the promises of a loving and just God, hope for and committed action on behalf of a better future where every person and all peoples can together celebrate and share the blessings of God in a Beloved Community based on liberation and justice for ALL.
Disciples Justice Action in the U.S. Capitol
Share with us YOUR passion for justice: JOIN or RENEW your membership today
On Monday, July 29th, Disciples leaders and activists from the DMV area joined with leaders and activists from a diversity of faith traditions in an interfaith prayer meeting and a press conference in front of the Supreme Court. The prayer session and press conference were organized by a team working with Dr. Alvin O’Neal Jackson, executive director for religious outreach for the Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival.
Speakers included PPC co-chair Bishop William Barber, II, and a number of leaders and activists from a variety of religious traditions, all of whom, despite their religious diversity, shared common faith-based values. The speakers called for greater civility in our deeply fractured and polarized political environment, and greater unity around policies that help low-wage workers and people living in poverty.
The PPC:NCMR prayer session and press conference launched the Moral Monday Season of Prayer, a time for all people of faith, conscience, and good will to “call upon our nation to embody democracy, justice, and voting rights, and to urge that the race for the presidency - and all other positions of leadership that have accountability to the public - to be grounded in truth, love, and equity.”
Share with us YOUR passion for justice: JOIN or RENEW your membership today
Some of the DISCIPLES who participated in this event are in the second photo above. Pictured from left to right are Rev. Tim Bobbitt, senior pastor at First Christian Church of Alexandria, VA; Rev. Sarah Nave-Fisher, senior pastor of University Church in Hyattsville, MD; Rev. Stephanie Kendell, senior pastor of National City Christian Church in Washington, DC; Dr. Marcus Leathers, regional minister of the Christian Church Capital Area; and Dr. Laird Thomason, retired pastor and retired hospice chaplain. (Laird worked hard alongside Disciples minister Linda Walling, then director of Faithful Reform in Healthcare, to help promote support from Disciples and other people of faith for the Affordable Care Act, which was signed into law in March 2010 by President Barack Obama. Rev. Walling was shortly afterwards invited to the White House to receive an award for all her hard work. Accompanying her were Dr. Laird Thomason and Rev. Dr. Ken Brooker Langston, director of DJAN).
Disciples at the event not pictured here are Bishop William Barber, II, co-chair of PPC; Dr. Alvin O’Neal Jackson, director of religious outreach for PPC; and Dr. Bob Perry, retired minister, current regional elder, and co-chair of the board of the Disciples Center for Public Witness.
DJAN (Disciples Justice Action Network) was one of the very first ministries to endorse the Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Renewal, and also worked with our activists and others to draft the emergency resolution that led to the General Assembly’s affirmation of the work of Dr. William Barber, II, and its endorsement of this important national campaign.
Share with us YOUR passion for justice: JOIN or RENEW your membership today
DJAN LEADER RECEIVES SPECIAL AWARD
At the recent Biennial Session of the National Convocation held in Greensboro, NC, The Rev. Brenda Cardwell, Senior Pastor of Pilgrimage Christian Church in Suitland, MD, and a member of the DJAN Decisions (Leadership) Team, was honored with a special award for women who have for many years demonstrated excellence in ministry. The DJAN leadership team and members of DJAN’s church-wide network of justice activists congratulate our sister for her amazing achievements and long-term impact through ministries of personal salvation, community outreach, and social transformation.
national convocation 2024
The 2024 Biennial Session of the National Convocation of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in the United States and Canada took place July 11 -15, 2024, in Greensboro, NC. The conference included great worship, singing, and preaching, special awards to truly special servants of God, a visit to the International Civil Rights Museum, our workshop on 'Faith & Politics,' and an official collective statement of prayer and concern about Gaza (final text to be provided soon).
From top left to right by row: Bishop William Barber, II, gives a message about the plight of low-wage workers and people living in poverty, and their potential for gaining much greater input into the public policy decisions that shape their lives; the International Civil Rights Museum built within the Woolworth’s store where student sit-ins led to the end of segregated lunch counters; Ken Brooker Langston (DJAN), Jack Sullivan, Jr. (Ohio Council of Churches), and Hanna Broom (Poor People’s Campaign: National Call for Moral Revival), panelists at a well-attended workshop on ‘Faith & Politics,’ moderated by Dr. Alvin O’Neal Jackson; Dr. Cynthia Hale, Senior Pastor of Light of the World Christian Church in Decatur/Atlanta, GA, delivering a sermon that both challenged and inspired everyone at the worship service; strong preaching and singing by Rev. Delesslyn Kennebrew, the newly installed Administrative Secretary of the National Convocation and the Associate General Minister of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in the United States and Canada; Rev. Brenda Cardwell, Senior Pastor of Pilgrimage Christian Church in Suitland, MD, receiving a special award of recognition of excellence over many years and in many ways in ministry by women leaders; Dr. Alvin O’Neal Jackson, a major leader of the Poor People’s Campaign: National Call to Moral Revival, opening the Biennial Session with a rousing sermon that was theologically, ethically, and spiritually challenging; and Dr. Delores Carpenter, Senior Pastor Emeritus of Michigan Park Christian Church in Washington, DC, and retired professor of theology at Howard Divinity School in Washington, DC, saying thank you and making a few other comments after receiving the same prestigious award that was given to Rev. Brenda Cardwell.
Rev. Brenda Cardwell, Dr. Jack Sullivan, and Dr. Ken Brooker Langston are members of the DJAN Decisions Team.
NOTE: The final text of the National Convocation’s statement on Gaza will soon be available.
The first night of the 28th Biennial Session of the National Convocation opened Thursday night, July 11, with a rousing theologically, ethically, and spiritually challenging sermon by Dr. Alvin O’Neal Jackson: ‘Makes Me Wanna Holler.’ This was part of a moving worship service that included, among others, General Minister and President Rev. Terri Hord Owens and Rev. Delesslyn Kennebrew, Administrative Secretary of the National Convocation and Associate General Minister. Tomorrow (Friday, July 12) DJAN will be partnering with the Disciples Center for Public Witness to host a workshop on ‘FAITH & POLITICS: The 2024 Elections.’
For Disciples and others at this conference, this workshop will take place at 2.45 pm in Augusta B. Among the presenters are Dr. Alvin O’Neal Jackson, Dr. Jack Sullivan, Jr., and Dr. Ken Brooker Langston. (Dr. William Barber, III, may also be there). Please join us!
60th anniversary of the civil rights act
Join DJAN in celebrating, defending, and promoting civil rights
On July 2, 1964, President Lyndon Baines Johnson, a member of the Disciples of Christ, signed into law the Civil Rights Act, a law ending apartheid in the United States. Political leaders were ready to support this law due to the demands for change effectively made by the justice activists of the Civil Rights Movement, a liberation movement led by The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Today we must continue to be vigilant and get to work, especially in this election year, because many of these rights are currently being ignored, undermined, or just plain taken away. We cannot, must not, and, with both committed justice activism and the help of our God, will not let this continue to happen!
DJAN and Disciples Leaders Call for Justice for Poor People and Low-Wage Workers
Over the weekend, DJAN activists joined with Disciples from all across the US joined to support the Assembly/March for/with Poor People and Low-Wage Workers in DC, and to listen to speakers from diverse groups, including our own Disciples leaders: Bishop Barber, Dr. Alvin O'Neal Jackson, and our GMP The Rev. Terri Hord Owens. It was a great event in which our leaders "did us proud."
JOIN DJAN for the POOR PEOPLE’s CAMPAIGN GATHERING in dc
10 am - June 29th - 3rd and Pennsylvania NW
POOR PEOPLE’S and LOW-WAGE WORKER’S MASS ASSEMBLY & MARCH on WASHINGTON & to the POLLS - Saturday, June 29th, 2024 - 10 am - 3rd and Pennsylvania NW - DC
To register or for more information: poorpeoplescampaign.org
SEE BELOW for special information for DISCIPLES participating in this important event:
IT’S DJAN’s 28th BIRTHDAY! 28 years of promoting a prophetic passion for justice in our churches. 28 years of working with others to help build the Beloved Community envisioned by The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. 28 years of helping create spaces and possibilities for the inbreaking of the Kindom of God.
PLEASE HELP US CELEBRATE OUR BIRTHDAY!
You can give give online. Or you can send your most generous gift by check or money order to: DJAN, c/o University Church, 5655 University Avenue, Chicago, IL 60637.
