CLEVELAND, Jan. 06, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- As the people of the United States mark the anniversary of the 2021 insurrection at the Capitol, a United Church of Christ leader pointed out the irony of the date of the attack – and the power of love to counteract “chaos,” “danger” and “evil acts.”
The Rev. Traci Blackmon, a national officer of the denomination, noted that Jan. 6 marks the beginning of the Christian season of Epiphany. She said the season celebrates “the revelation of hope embodied in One who came to live and serve among us so that we may be one.”
“How ironic it is that on this same date, Jan. 6, 2021, our democracy was once again challenged by some who profess Christianity and yet fear what the celebration of Epiphany represents: the very coming together of diverse cultures and faiths across imposed geographical boundaries.” Blackmon is the church’s associate general minister for Justice and Local Church Ministries. The full text of her statement appears at the UCC website.
She called the insurrection a “futile attempt to thwart the peaceful transition of power for which our democracy is known.” The threat still exists, she said, noting 34 recently passed laws in 19 states that restrict voting rights and impede equal representation.
Invoking images from the Bible, she said the church season that starts on Jan. 6 “is a time to be reminded that even in the midst of chaos and danger, love breaks forth with a power that cannot be quelled by evil acts of Empire or the chaos of community. Epiphany is a reminder that there remains a light in the darkness that compels us forward, and that voices crying out in the wilderness do not cry out in vain.”
“Today, as we remember the travesty of the rebellion we witnessed last year and mourn anew the lives that were violently taken, let us do so with our hearts turned toward the revelatory light of Epiphany,” Blackmon said. “Let us do so remembering that, despite those restrictive laws in 19 states, 25 states have enacted 54 laws with provisions to expand voting access.
“Let us do so, knowing that now is the time to pass federal voting protections, including the Freedom to Vote Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act.
“Let us do so, knowing that while many supported the insurrection, many more did not.
“Let us do so, not made bitter but better by the challenge of so many who lost their way to love.
“Let us do so, remembering the words of poet Lucille Clifton in her poem, ‘won’t you celebrate with me,’ that ‘everyday something has tried to kill me and has failed.’
“Let us do so, remembering redemption is possible when we live out love.
“Let us learn from the tragedies of our past and move toward the light within each of us fueled by the everlasting power of love, knowing that love is the only thing that never dies. It is toward this light that we are called and it is only in this light we are all warmed.”
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The United Church of Christ, a mainline Protestant denomination, has some 773,000 members in 4,794 congregations nationwide. Headquartered in Cleveland, it is a church of many firsts: the first mainline denomination to ordain a woman, the first to ordain an openly gay man and the first predominantly white denomination to ordain an African American. More on the UCC’s justice ministries is here.
