Your July Updates from EDS
Dear EDS Community,
This past weekend, many celebrated the day the Second Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence, declaring the 13 American colonies independent from Great Britain. We refer to it as our nation’s birthday. Yet, in doing so, we ignore the 574 federally recognized sovereign nations who have existed and continue to thrive on this land. This perpetuates a myth that our forefathers sacrificed everything to establish a society based on universal freedom and justice, even as they denied that same freedom to so many. The myth ignores the deep-rooted racism, sexism, and white supremacy that are undeniably woven into the very fabric of the United States.
Each Fourth of July, we see patriotism intertwined with White Christian Nationalism. This dangerous rhetoric does not reflect God’s intention for us. This moment compels us to ask: In what world does "freedom and justice for all" look like military vehicles parading down the streets of our nation’s capital on the president’s birthday? A holiday that celebrates freedom is a day to ask, 'Are we here to look out for ourselves?' Or does our faith implore us to consider the good of the whole?
I find it impossible to genuinely celebrate my own freedom as a United States citizen when fellow children of God are locked away in detention centers. I cannot claim justice for all when kin in Palestine are fired at while standing in line for the food that will barely ease their starvation – victims of a war my government pays for.
Ours is a God who calls us into a sacred community of relationships. God is nudging, urging, pleading with us to focus not just on ourselves and our personal profit and comfort, but on all of humanity, whether they are near or far, speaking the same language or practicing the same religion.
This summer, we invite you to join us for powerful programs that offer opportunities to come together, tell the truth about Christianity's role in the US' founding sins, and explore its enduring power as a resource for liberation.
God’s ways are always ways of love and generosity and compassion for all creatures and all of creation. If freedom is what we celebrate, then let it be in the hope of freedom for all of creation.
With hope,
The Very Rev. Lydia Kelsey Bucklin
President & Dean