On this Juneteenth holiday, we remember that on June 19, 1865,  enslaved people in Galveston, Texas, finally learned they were free,  more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation was issued by President Lincoln 30 months earlier.  It is a reminder that justice moves too slowly and that this nation’s justice work on race is far from done. Last Fall, our staff and members of our board of directors entered into a six week program of study together, Animating Antiracism, which, speaking for myself, was also a reminder that my own work on race is far from done.

So I am grateful for the holiday of Juneteenth which gives me a chance to stop, reflect and be inspired by the stories of Black heroes from history, like the ones in this new UCC resource, Juneteenth: Celebrating Intergenerational Movement-Making toward Solidarity.

The theme ties in with our own new Michigan Conference Mitten Project in which we recognize how important it is to share the justice work of faith formation across the ages, and through the voices of people of all ages, because you never know who the Holy Spirit will speak through next!

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