Juneteenth Celebration at FUMC

What is Juneteenth, exactly?  Juneteenth is a celebration commemorating the end of slavery in the U.S., dating from June 19 in 1865. This is an important date for our Black brothers and sisters.

This year, FUMC has begun to learn how to be effective allies for people of color in several ways:

• Working against dehumanization of the Black, Indigenous People of Color community (BIPOC)
• Educating ourselves about the history of this community
• Finding where our white privilege blinds us to injustice against this community

The FUMC adult programming staff decided that a celebration of Juneteenth was a great way to end the program year at the church, so all the Sunday morning sessions for adults will reflect this theme in the month of June. Below is a tentative order of events – please check back for updates!

• June 6 – Centering Practices – Amy Kennedy will lead the group in spiritual practices and prayers used by Howard Thurman – a 20th Black theologian and pastor.
• June 13 – Conversations About Science and Religion – Professor Simone Charles will address “what religious and public health people and organizations might do together to relieve public health inequities compassionately and justly.”
• June 20 – Vital Conversations – This group will wrap up their study of Caste by Isabel Wilkerson.
• June 27 – Disability Awareness Talk – Dr. Karriem S. Watson, DHSc, M.S., MPH, associate director of Community Outreach and Engagement for the University of Illinois in Chicago will talk about community health and science in the BIPOC community, and how allyship is so important to us all.

The adult program staff are very excited about this Juneteenth Celebration! We see it as a way to celebrate our entire family of God, and move into our roles as allies for the BIPOC community. Please join us for this celebration of freedom and hope!