Trinity United Church of Christ

Happy Juneteenth! In 1865, slaves in Texas were the last to learn of their emancipation following the defeat of the Confederate States of America. In African-Am...erican communities throughout the United States, this good news of liberation to the captives is still celebrated as Juneteenth. [from our book Common Prayer: A Liturgy for Ordinary Radicals] www.CommonPrayer.net

Juneteenth marks the official end of slavery in the U.S. We have three opportunities to gather as siblings in Christ to celebrate Juneteenth and reflect on how we can work to extend full justice to all people. Join us! #Juneteenth #Juneteenth2021

All God’s creatures are welcome to Sunday service. This little guy arrived early for worship and perched himself on the cross for a birds eye view. Once he found his way to the Pastor’s study, he was secured and released back into his natural surroundings. #nomatterwhoyouarewhatyouareorwhereyouareyouarewelcome

Sankofa means 'we cannot look forward intelligently or effectively plan for the future without a careful review of the past.' As the African American experien...ce is fundamentally shaped by the rich ancestral past as well as by responses to racist hostility, our study of African Americans must necessarily consider the history of Africa. ~L.H. Whelchel, Jr. See more

"God of the orphan, God of the immigrant, God of the widow, God of the imprisoned, God of the hungry,... God of the thirsty, God of the oppressed, God of the depressed, God of the sick, God of the lonely, God of the dying, God of the streets, God of the people, God of Trayvon Martin, God of Breonna Taylor, God of George Floyd, God of Lisa Montgomery, We confess that in the face of injustice we often remain silent. When your children cry out in the streets I can’t breathe we watch in silence, paralyzed by fear, guilt, and shame for we know we are complicit in this evil that values whiteness and demonizes blackness. We repent for this era of corruption, racism, and greed that dragged us all through the valley of the shadow of death. We pray for mercy. We pray for forgiveness. We pray for grace. We pray for change. We pray for transformation. On behalf of the hurting people, we cry out to our God of Compassion who hears our cries and wipes away every tear. God of Hope, God of Love, God of all faiths, God of Reconciliation, God of Reparations, God of Restoration, God of Redemption, Lead us onward into this new day. Lead us further along the arc of the moral universe that bends towards justice. Lead us into an era that will make all of our children, black, brown and white, ambassadors of peace and freedom for all the world. Lead us in the way of dignity, equality, and respect as we work together to build the Beloved Community here on Earth. Help us God. Save us God. Guide us God. Hand-in-hand with the Holy One, may we leave behind our fears, our terrors, our midnights of despair, and embrace the sacred calling to fulfill our interconnected destiny of liberation and justice for all. With you, God, we believe this is possible: to live in peace with one another, to live in such a way that demonstrates with our actions our love for our neighbor as our selves. Let us put away our selfishness, our pride, our obsession with might over right. Let us lay down our weapons and pick up the pen, writing a new chapter of peace in this land. We pray this in the Great Name of our Living God.the Creator of us all. Amen." Prayer by Rev. Dr. Sarah Lund

Prayer for Epiphany evening, 2021 God, the US Capitol has been secured, but the people are not secure.... There is a curfew in Washington but the country cannot sleep. It is Epiphany. We have trusted the guidance of a holy star, and now we must make a new map of compassion and wisdom, and find another way to travel together, with justice and reconciliation, another way to define home as a dwelling of healing for illness of body and of mind and spirit and comfort for those who grieve, where lies are not spoken, weapons are not raised, and every mouth is covered by a mask of care for the most vulnerable in our midst.