Desert Notes January 16, 2025

This weekend we will celebrate the legacy of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in a myriad of ways, including our Sunday service. This is the first January since I’ve been here that our Sanctuary hasn’t been under construction, and I am excited to experience a full service together in honor of him. I think sometimes we don’t take the time to really orient the way this commemoration impacts us differently based on our identity–our racial identity, in particular. There’s a tension around wanting to honor him using cultural expressions that come from the Black/African American community (I know folks feel different ways even about naming identity!) because in a congregation where the minister and musicians may be white or mostly not Black/African American, the context, meaning and importance of these cultural expressions may not be as clear or as nuanced as they really deserve to be. 

If you’ve never been in a predominantly Black church and sung the Black national anthem (Lift Every Voice) you might not have experienced the true power of this song and the depth with which it can be sung. I have vivid memories of this powerful song and the voices singing it with devotion, determination and depth.  In my experience, many white folks barely know this song. It references the history of slavery and its violence, as well as the incredible strength it took and still takes to survive, heal and thrive the generational trauma and institutional impacts in our country from this experience and history. I know I don’t know the depths of this experience. So when I sing it or hear it sung, it is with a sense of humility and honor and commitment–an understanding that I must listen and learn and then show up to the work that needs doing to continue to dismantle institutionalized racism and forms of white supremacy that benefit me even as I am trying to dismantle them. 

This Sunday we humbly offer a service in which we will sing this and other songs, and in which we will honor and remember a legacy that continues to beckon us into deeper work and commitments. It is my prayer that all of us will hear a call to service and action. For those of us who are not Black/African American, I hope you will also hear an invitation to lean in and listen for a call to learn and to grow in awareness of how systemic racism continues to impact our community and our country, especially anti-black racism. 

With love and commitment,

Rev. Sarah