 by Rev. Elizabeth Rawlings This is an offering of possibility and an encouragement to not only address slavery with your congregation, but to actively confess and repent. You are invited to use whatever pieces work in your context and edit as you see fit so long as people of European Descent are not left off the hook. Introduction: P: In late August, 1619, the first slaves were brought to the shores of what would become the United States of America. Twenty people, violently stolen from their families and homes in the kingdom of Ndogo in what is now Angola arrived here to live lives in chains. By 1860, the United States was home to 3.6 million enslaved human beings who were either stolen from their homes and families or born into slavery in this nation. Though the emancipation proclamation was signed in 1863, the legacy of slavery is still with us today. From the racial wealth gap to arrest and sentencing disparities, from discrimination in housing, job searches and banking to our segregated and prejudically funded school systems, from fearing death at the hands of police to daily comments from neighbors, African Americans face structural and personal obstacles people of European Descent do not face. Even if our European ancestors never owned slaves, we still benefit from the system of slavery and it’s legacy. For ELCA folx: (As the ELCA declared at churchwide assembly, it is time we entered into a season of confession and lamentation for slavery and it’s legacy.) It is far beyond time we reckon with America’s Original Sin, slavery. As followers of Christ, we are called to repent of our sins, both individual and collective. And so today let us* join together in an order of confession and repentance for slavery and it’s legacy. Most merciful God, C: We confess we are drowning in sin and can only be saved through the grace of Jesus Christ. We confess that our nation and its wealth were built on the backs of children of God who were stolen from their homes, separated from their families, imprisoned, starved, sold, beaten and forced to work in the fields and homes that are the bedrock of our wealth. We confess that while enslaved people were granted freedom, self governance and land at the end of the Civil War, the US government backed out of this promise. We confess that during reconstruction the United States enacted laws that enshrined structural inequality for people who had been enslaved, their descendants, and all who looked like them. We confess we are still enacting laws to disenfranchise and disempower black americans. We confess separate but equal was never equal. We confess separation, and continued inequality, was the intent and outcome of Jim Crow laws. We confess that our nation did not want to integrate schools, cafes or communities. We confess we still fear integration. We confess that the GI bill was written to exclude black Americans. We confess that our criminal justice system primarily exists to oppress black bodies. We confess we continue to work to suppress the black vote. We confess welfare reform is an effort to starve the black community of resources. We confess that our political, economic, educational systems are built in ways that continue the oppressive legacy of slavery. We confess that we live in a nation that prioritizes the lives, the bodies, the families, the careers and the feelings of people of European descent over those of African descent. We confess that we benefit from these systems and defend them to maintain our own power. We confess that these systems keep us from living in full and loving relationship with our neighbors of African descent. We confess that thinking about the legacy of slavery makes us uncomfortable. We confess that talking about white supremacy makes us angry. We confess that we are afraid of losing the power and privilege white supremacy provides. We are truly sorry and humbly repent. We ask for your forgiveness Holy God, and for your spirit to work within us that we might have the power, strength and grace to change. P: People of God, we know that sometimes Jesus calls us into discomfort that we might be changed. We hold faith that Christ is with us in our discomfort. We know that in Christ there is no longer Greek nor Jew, slave nor free, black nor white. We know that in Jesus’ first sermon as recorded in Luke, he opened a scroll and read the words of the prophet Isaiah, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” We know that Jesus commanded us to love our neighbor as ourselves and to give up what we have and follow him. We know Jesus commanded we not only confess, but repent of our sin. Let us join together in repentance as individuals and as a community C: We turn from the power and privilege afforded us through the legacy of slavery. We repent of our desire for power over others. We turn towards working for God’s ways of love and justice. We commit to learning about racial inequality and working for racial justice. We commit to dismantling white privilege in our own hearts, the hearts of those around us, and the systems we have created to uphold it. We commit to being not just not racist, but being anti-racist. We commit to learning about the possibilities of reparations. We commit to dismantling racial injustice in this congregation and the larger church through study and action. P: In making these commitments in front of one another, we begin the work of dismantling the legacy of slavery as a community. Let us hold one another accountable to this work in the name of Christ. Through the grace of our Lord, Jesus Christ, we are forgiven all our sins. Go out in the spirit of repentance and sin no more. More liturgical resources available here: *This is written for people of European Descent, by people of European Descent. If you are in a multi-racial setting, we encourage you to give your non-while members a heads up that this is happening (or you are thinking about it), see how they feel most comfortable being present. You know your people; invite participation however works without letting white folx off the hook. As an alternative to saying the whole thing together, we suggest having individuals speak lines or sections and having the people respond with, "We confess." Thanks to Revs. Priscilla Austin, Cary Bass-Deschênes, and Jessica Harren and Ray Gentry for assistance. by Jason Chesnut
P: Do you renounce white supremacy and all its evil forces? C: I renounce them. P: Do you renounce the ways of the alt-right and their violent gaslighting? C: I renounce them. P: Do you renounce Islamophobia and anti-Semitism, racism and transphobia, the myriad pillars of white supremacists everywhere? C: I renounce them. P: Do you renounce the acolytes of whiteness, the sycophants of sacrilege, the purveyors of anti-Black, anti-Native, anti-Latinx, anti-Arab, anti-people of color narratives? C: I renounce them. P: Do you renounce the forces of violence and “heritage” that draw you away from the all-encompassing, wildly radical love of God? C: I renounce them. P: Do you renounce the anti-God fake news strain of the current U.S. regime and its “both sides are good” whitewashed narrative? C: I renounce them. P: Do you renounce white supremacy and all the forces that defy God? C: I renounce them. P: Church, we must renounce these powers and principalities of whiteness. Unabashedly and unashamedly. C: Or they will consume us. P: Jesus Christ, bread of life:
You fed thousands with a few loaves and fishes. C: You created abundance out of scarcity; the people shared. A: Help us to trust in your abundance and share what you have given. P: While we seek food that spoils, and leaves us empty. C: You fill us with what never perishes; in you we have eternal life. A: Help us to seek souls full of love and be satisfied. P: We seek that which will never satisfy: power, wealth, status C: We set a table of separation, oppression and violence; we dine on death. A: You prepare a banquet of love, relationship and peace; you feed us life. P: You are the bread of life. C: You feed us with your very flesh and blood. A: Abide in us, as we abide in you, that we may be full and know everlasting life. Blessed be the holy Trinity, ☩ one God, In whom there are no borders, Who recognizes no nationalities Welcoming all sojourners into the promised land Amen. Trusting in God’s welcome to all sinners and saints, let us confess our sin against God and one another. Eternal parent of all, You created us as your children. As your children we are all related. All parents are our parents, all siblings are our siblings, all children are our children. We have denied our relationship to one another. We have built artificial boundaries out of fear, out of anger, out of desires for control and power. We have shut our ears as brown children cry in cages and looked away as black children lay dead in the streets. We call for justice but forget about mercy. We have divided what you declare whole. We have devalued what you declare worthy. We have defiled what you claim as holy. We have dehumanized one another, the creation you called “very good.” Forgive us for our fear, our desire for power, our thirst for justice without mercy. Forgive us for seeing ourselves as separate and our siblings as other. Help us to see in ourselves and one another what you see in us. Save us from the temptation to separate ourselves from our siblings, from building walls that keep us apart. Empower us to tear down the boundaries that separate us from one another and, inevitably, from you. Strengthen us that we might lift up our voices when your children cry out in pain. May we be for others the refuge we find in you. Renew our hearts, O God, through the power of your son, Jesus Christ. Hear the good news! Jesus came to call us to repentance. Jesus died that we might be forgiven. Jesus was resurrected that we might know eternal life. In his name, your sins are forgiven. Turn towards God and sin no more. Amen. We recognize that for some congregations pieces of this confession may go too far and say too much. We wish that wasn't the case but, as it is, we get it. Edit as you see fit for your context. Do you like what we do? Become a Disrupter: Support our Patreon!
In the wake of the increasingly horrific treatment of immigrants, those seeking refuge, naturalized citizens, and children by the current administration - and also their use of scripture to justify this treatment - we have created a litany to center these issues in scripture and encourage leaders and congregants to lift up their voices with God's call to love our neighbor. All our neighbors. Feel free to tweak and adjust as needed for your setting. Instructions for crediting our site are below the litany. by Revs. Elizabeth Rawlings and Jennifer Chrien
Gracious and loving God, In the beginning, you created humanity and declared us very good We were made in Africa, came out of Egypt. Our beginnings, all of our beginnings, are rooted in dark skin. We are all siblings. We are all related. We are all your children. We are all siblings, we are all related, we are all your children. Violence entered creation through Cain and Abel. Born of jealousy, rooted in fear of scarcity, Brother turned against brother The soil soaked with blood, Cain asked, “Am I my brother’s keeper? We are all siblings, we are all related, we are our brothers keeper. When your people cried out in slavery, You heard them. You did not ignore their suffering. You raised up leaders who would speak truth to power And lead your people into freedom. Let us hear your voice; grant us the courage to answer your call. Guide us towards justice and freedom for all people. We are all siblings, we are all related, we all deserve to be free. Through the prophets you told us the worship you want is for us to loose the bonds of injustice, to undo the thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke; Yet we continue to serve our own interest, To oppress our workers, to crush our siblings by the neck because we are afraid. Because they don’t look like us, act like us, talk like us. Yet, they are us. And we are them. We are all siblings, we are all related, we are not free unless all are free In great love you sent to us Jesus, your Son, Born in poverty, living under the rule of a foreign empire, Brown-skinned, dark-haired, middle-Eastern. They called him Yeshua, your Son, Who welcomed the unwelcome, accepted the unacceptable-- The foreigners, the radicals, the illiterate, the poor, The agents of empire and the ones who sought to overthrow it, The men and women who were deemed unclean because of their maladies. We are all siblings, we are all related, we are all disciples. The faith of Christ spread from region to region, culture to culture. You delight in the many voices, many languages, raised to you. You teach us that in Christ, “There is no Jew or Greek, there is no slave or free, there is no male and female.” In Christ, we are all one. Not in spite of our differences, but in them. Black, brown, and white; female, non-binary, and male; citizen and immigrant, In Christ we are all one. We are all siblings, we are all related, we are all one in Christ. Each week, we confess our sin to you and to one another. We know that we are in bondage to sin and cannot free ourselves. We are captive to the sin of white supremacy, Which values some lives more than others, Which believes some skin tones are more perfect than others, Which commits violence against those who are different. We confess our complicity in this sin. We humbly repent. We ask for the strength to face our sin, to dismantle it, and to be made anew We trust in your compassion and rely on your mercy Praying that you will give us your wisdom and guide us in your way of peace, That you will renew us as you renew all of creation In accordance with your will. We ask this, we pray this, as your children: all siblings, all related, all beloved children of God. Amen by Rev. Elizabeth Rawlings This was written for worship on the Sunday before Martin Luther King, Jr. day but can certainly be used any time! Most merciful God,
We confess that we are mired in sin and cannot get free on our own. We have judged others based on skin color, sex, gender, sexuality, religion, nationality, ability, financial and social status. We have preferred the ease and simplicity of placing others into boxes to the complexity of getting to know one another as siblings. We have contributed to and often benefited from systems that maintain the power of a privileged few. We have remained silent in the face of racism, sexism, heterosexism, ableism and other forms of prejudice. Through both our action and inaction, war, poverty and environmental degradation continue on massive scales. We have ignored your prophets and turned from your command to put you first and neighbor second. We have permitted the ends for which we live to become confused with the means by which we live. Forgive our ignorance. Forgive our weakness. Forgive our sin. May your love overwhelm us, your peace disturb us and your spirit move us so that we cannot help but do your will at all times and in all places, always glorifying your name. Amen. |
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