02-06-24

ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
February 6, 2024
I saw a cartoon recently where two children were walking along, one white and one black. The white child says, “I thought your people celebrated Black history in the month of February?” The black child replies, “Nope. That month is for ya’ll! We celebrate all year long.” Now I don’t know if that is necessarily true, but for something that is outside of my experience (I can only speak from a white person’s experience), there is something important about having someone else’s experience take center stage for a period of time. 

Years ago, I was talking with a retired minister who admitted that for the majority of his adult life, he held this sort of unspoken belief that women who experienced sexual violence had done something to deserve it or had asked for it. It was only when his granddaughter took him to a lecture on women and violence during Domestic Violence Awareness Month that he began a journey toward a whole new understanding of this important issue.

I try to read about race and racism throughout the year, but during Black History Month, I am often introduced to something new simply because the media is a bit more intentional about posting stories, lesser-known pieces of history, along with other information. As I have heard on a couple of occasions recently, we do not know what we do not know. But when we begin to realize that we do not know, there is a responsibility as a part of the human family to learn what we can.

​For the many opportunities I have been given to grow in my appreciation of the beautifully diverse human experience, I am thankful, Creator of All. May there be many more opportunities. Amen.