Juneteenth commemorates the arrival of Union army general Gordon Granger in the city of Galveston, TX on June 19, 1865 proclaiming that all enslaved persons in TX were now free.
1/8
The Emancipation Proclamation had formally freed them ~2.5 yrs earlier & the Civil War had ended in April, but TX was the most remote of the slave states, w/ a low presence of Union troops.
2/8
So, many enslaved Black persons did not know they had been formally freed, nor did they have the federal protection needed to claim their freedom.
3/8
For those who’ve never encountered it, Gen. Granger’s proclamation reads:
“The people of Texas are informed that, in accordance w/ a proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free...
4/8
“This involves an absolute equality of personal rights & rights of property between former masters & slaves, & the connection heretofore existing between them becomes that between employer & hired labor...
5/8
“The freedmen are advised to remain quietly at their present homes & work for wages. They are informed that they will not be allowed to collect at military posts and that they will not be supported in idleness either there or elsewhere.”
6/8
Note: Even in this proclamation, freedom didn’t really mean freedom. The white conspiracy to enact slavery-by-another-name thru the restriction of Black rights, policing of Black bodies & activities, & acts of terrorism had already begun. But more about that another day...
7/8
As the day when freedom was finally achieved by millions of enslaved Black Americans who had been fighting for freedom since at least 1619, Juneteenth should be a national holiday. #blackhistoryisamericanhistory
Postscript: If you’re a white American just learning about Juneteenth, maybe consider:
1) lamenting the sin & injustice of a nation declaring emancipation while also holding people in a system that denies them basic rights like fair housing, a funded education, & due process.
2) making a donation to the NAACP, the Urban League, or other local orgs doing good work so that they can continue the work of emancipating this country, 155 years after the original Juneteenth.
3) spending a little time learning & then sharing w/ family & friends about our history—not history as we wish it were, but history as it actually is.
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🧵I’m a prof & theologian. I’m used to strong disagreement & debate. But nothing rivals the sheer nastiness that emerges when I share something about women in ministry.
Maybe one day it’ll stop surprising me but today is not that day.
Meanwhile, PTL for the block option. 1/5
Please don’t feel sorry for me. I’m not asking for sympathy. Many others on this website endure much much worse.
I’m just baffled. Of all the things I say online, what draws the most vitriol is the topic of women preaching & pastoring? It’s bizarre. 2/5
Like, how dare they proclaim the good news of God’s grace in Jesus Christ! How dare they care for the bodies & souls of fellow human beings!
🧵Essential wisdom on prayer from Archbishop Michael Ramsey:
"[Prayer] means putting yourself near God, with God, in a time of quietness every day. You put yourself with God, just as you are, in the feebleness of your concentration, in your lack of warmth and desire... 1/5
"...not trying to manufacture pious thoughts or phrases. You put yourself with God, empty perhaps, but hungry and thirsty for him; and if in sincerity you cannot say that you want God you can perhaps tell him that you want to want him... 2/5
"...and if you cannot say even that perhaps you can say that you want to want to want him! Thus you can be very near him in your naked sincerity... 3/5
From where does spiritual authority arise in the church?
Bonhoeffer’s wise answer: “Jesus made authority in the fellowship dependent upon brotherly service. Genuine spiritual authority is to be found only where the ministry of hearing, bearing, & proclaiming is carried out… 1/3
“Every cult of personality that emphasizes the distinguished qualities, virtues, & talents of another person, even though these be of an altogether spiritual nature, is worldly & has no place in the Christian community... 2/3
“The Church does not need brilliant personalities but faithful servants of Jesus & the brethren.”
As the season of Advent draws to a close, I return to the salient & stirring words of Rev. @flemingrut:
"We all stand on the threshold of God's kingdom. The Lord is still out in front of us. His future still approaches, his future in which all will be made new. 1/4🧵
"His promise is sure; he will come. We make ready for him, this Advent season and every season, by lighting whatever little lights the Lord has put in front of us, no light too small to be used by him, action in waiting, pointing ahead, looking to Christ and for Christ. 2/4
"Even our smallest lights will be signs in this world, lights to show the way, beach-heads to hold against the Enemy until the day when the great Conqueror lands with Michael the archangel at the head of his troops... 3/4