FAMOKC

Dear Friends in Christ,

On our recent visit to Oklahoma, Cindy and I visited the First Americas Museum in Oklahoma City. The museum honors the ancestors who lived in the area before it was Oklahoma and the indigenous people who inhabited the lands before the US was established. The Okla Homma exhibition (Okla Homma is Choctaw for “red people”) documents the collective history of the 39 culturally distinct tribal nations that currently reside in the state. Only a few of these tribal nations are indigenous to what is now Oklahoma. The rest are not there by choice. They are the descendants of tribal nations forcibly removed from their homelands and relocated from all over the contiguous US to what was originally called “Indian Country.” From California to Delaware, from Florida to Ottawa, Canada. It was a sobering reminder of the injustice perpetrated on the first people of this nation, including by our own Church.

But the museum is not just a document of the wrongs perpetrated on the original inhabitants of the land we now call home, it was a celebration of their histories, unique cultures, diversity, and resilience. It was also a recognition of the many and important contributions the first peoples have made to the US and continue to make today.

Last Sunday we celebrated Pride. This Sunday we will recognize Juneteenth. July 29th is the fiftieth anniversary of women’s ordination in the Episcopal Church. All these tributes and the FAM have something in common. They not only remind us of the many injustices perpetrated on marginalized people over the course of our history, they assert the narrative of people whose voices the world has often sought to silence and claim their place in our history and our world. It is important we do not forget or allow the prevailing voice of power and privilege to rewrite their stories and diminish their existence. In his letter to the Church in Rome, St. Paul wrote,

“Let love be genuine; hate what is evil; hold fast to what is good; love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honor. Do not lag in zeal; be ardent in spirit; serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope; be patient in affliction; persevere in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints; pursue hospitality to strangers.

Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice; weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another; do not be arrogant, but associate with the lowly; do not claim to be wiser than you are. Do not repay anyone evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all. If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.” Romans 12:9-18

For this reason, I will be attending the Diocesan Juneteenth Feast Day celebration this Saturday, 11:00 AM June 15th, at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Oakland. I encourage you to join me or find another way to honor this day.

Yours in Christ,

Rev. Jane+