Juneteenth at First Congregational Church in Albuquerque

in

On Sunday, June 18th, First Congregational Church in Albuquerque celebrated Juneteenth in worship. Ryan Tate, director of Children, Youth, and Family Ministries preached and sang a powerful rendition of “Ain’t Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me Around.” In his sermon, Ryan asked how God’s justice operates for the oppressed and he reminded us that God’s justice is us. His closing challenge was to “challenge your anti-blackness and racist bias, question your institutions, question your books, question everything, and do it with love.”

 

The postlude, a medley of Gospel songs, was accompanied by quotes (listed below). The service was followed with a beautiful fellowship time with the quotes as placemats. We came away from the day inspired to do all that we can to create a world where all are free. We continue to grow in our understanding that until all of us are free, none of us are free. Special thanks to Ruth Randall, Juba Clayton, and AO Ferguson for their vision and creating such a powerful service.

 

  • Struggle is a never-ending process. Freedom is never really won; you earn it and win it in every generation. [Corretta Scott King (1927-2006), Activist, author]

  • Juneteenth reminds me of Black freedom dreams, my dreams. [Dannese Mapond (1978- ) CEO, The Gathering for Justice]

  • Juneteenth is another moment for me and my loved ones to build on archives of truth and experience of (ourselves) black folks. [Tatiana Glover (1989-  ) Environmental and Social Justice Activist

  • Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty. [Ida B. Wells-Burnett (1862-1931) Anti-lynching crusader, journalist.]

  • I am no longer accepting the things I cannot change.  I am changing the things I cannot accept. [Angela Davis (1944- ) Political activist, scholar, author]

  • There are still many causes worth sacrificing for, so much history yet to be made. [Michele Obama (1964- ) Former first lady, author]

  • We cannot become what we need to be by remaining what we are. [Oprah Winfrey (1954-  ) Actress, author media proprietor]

  • History, despite its wrenching pain, cannot be unlived, but if faced with courage, need not be lived again. [Maya Angelou (1928-2014) Writer, poet, civil rights activist]