Capital Baptist - December 2020-January 2021 Edition

Capital Baptist Magazine A Publication of the District of Columbia Baptist Convention

December 2020- January 2021 Volume 1| Issue 2

Joy Inside this Issue “Joy to the world?”

Proclaiming good news during a pandemic The 144th Annual Gathering Church Gifts Joy comes!

Watch and Pray: The Watch Night Tradition

Magazine Rev. Dr. Trisha Miller Manarin Executive Director/ Minister

Rev. Starlette Thomas Managing Editor

Loretta Polite- Shipman Associate Editor

A bi- monthly publication, the Capital Baptist Magazine aims to highlight the work and witness of its member churches in the District of Columbia and the surrounding metropolitan region. © 2021, District of Columbia Baptist Convention 1628 16th Street NW| Washington, D.C. 20009 www.dcbaptist.org

One Faith. Many Cultures. Endless Possibilities.

Table of Contents Letter from the Editor From the Executive Director/ Minister Joy to the world?

Proclaiming Good News During a Pandemic 144th Annual Gathering “Embrace: Rediscovering the Call to Fellowship” Joy comes!

Church Announcements

What’s # Trending?

Watch and Pray: The Watch Night Tradition An Epiphany Litany The Benediction

“All Joy reminds. It is never a possession, always a desire for something longer ago or further away or still ‘about to be.’” |C.S. Lewis

Still have joy?

By Rev. Starlette Thomas, Managing Editor

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Letter from the Editor

December 2020- January 2021

‘Tis

the season for thanksgiving, for gift giving, for families to gather around tables, trees, and the testimony that we have lived to see another year. This is a difficult and perhaps awkward confession in the midst of a pandemic that has claimed the lives of more than one million people around the world. And these deaths are on top of those caused by other diseases, accidents and incidents of misfortune for which there are no words.

“Ashes to ashes and dust to dust.” But this is too much. Both have gotten on most everything and cover it all up. Not enough sweeping, dusting, weeping will clean it all up. Yet, we are compelled to muster up joy. Because ‘tis the season.

But joy should not be simply reduced to jingle bells or watching some shiny ball drop in New York City. Joy is something much deeper and long lasting. Present after we have opened gifts, taken off party hats and swept the confetti from the floor. Joy is not a pick me up feeling but a conviction, a truth even.

Jesus offers words for his disciples in the gospel of John in preparation for his departure, for when he is no longer around—at least in the flesh. He says, “So you have pain now; but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you” (16.22, NRSV). Now then, our joy, yours and mine is not rooted in how much we have been able to keep in spite all that we have lost.

Instead, it is grounded in the fact that Jesus is coming back for us, that we are not alone in the world, that there is a hand holding onto us—no matter how much of our lives we can’t seem to get a grip on.

Jesus alone is the good news.

This is why preachers can proclaim “joy to the world” as discussed in the article on page 7, why Dr. Manarin says, “Joy comes in the embodiment of God in the person of Jesus,” why our churches continue to call new pastors as announced on page 14.

Because joy is not a verb; it’s a noun. Jesus is Joy personified. Often featured with arms stretched wide, this is not the typical image that comes to mind. Jesus joyful, delighted, rejoicing.

Still have joy? Yes, because it is not dependent upon whether or not we have experienced physical, material or financial loss. Joy is not something that falls between the cracks in our lives or through our fingers. Joy is a person.

We still have Jesus so we still have Joy. We have not lost it all because God is still with us. God is not absentminded, forgetting where the divine will for our lives is.

Jesus knows where the car keys are and still has the wheel. The Holy Spirit has not wandered off but remains fully present to comfort and to guide. As you turn the pages of this second edition of the Capital Baptist Magazine may Joy leap from its pages. Because I still have joy and so do you!

From the Executive Director/ Minister Wearing Garland

By Rev. Dr. Trisha Miller Manarin

December and January are months filled with expectations.

Advent is the time of waiting, of moments drawing us closer to both the coming of Jesus in Bethlehem and into our lives, individually and collectively. We wait in wonder. Wondering can lead to wandering and in that journey, we might simply find there is more waiting to be done. We are in a holding pattern, we wait – hoping, wondering how joy will be for us this day and in the days to come.

What does JOY mean? How can those who appear to have more worries than celebrations know joy? How can we, under siege by an invisible virus, affected by economic troubles, racial injustice and so much more, be people of joy?

In searching and listening for inspiration, I was consumed and overcome by “We Are Christmas” written by Dr. Kevin Johnson and Sarah Stephens, sung by the Spelman College Glee Club with soloist Sarah Stephens [now Benibo]. In this hearing, I was primed and moved to new joy. I encourage you to listen to this beautiful song and drink it in. Meditate on the words and when you are most weary sing them aloud and sing them again. The refrain just might carry you, offering both solace and inspiration, as the words declare:

Photo Credit: Fam Sae Cho

We are Christmas, we are God’s hands To care for one another in these war- torn lands We are Christmas, the love that we share Will carry one another ‘til we understand We are Christmas

Joy comes in the embodiment of God in the person of Jesus and continues in and through us through the power and presence of the Holy Spirit. DCBC, we are called to be God’s hands, we are called to embody the hope of the risen Lord, even in the midst of Good Friday death and despair. While we do not need to rush from the Friday, we can be cradled as Mary cradled Jesus, in the arms of God. The third Sunday of Advent’s reading from Isaiah 61:1-3a says: The spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me; he has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed, to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and release to the prisoners; to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn; to provide for those who mourn in Zion-- to give them a garland instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the mantle of praise instead of a faint spirit.

(Continued on page 15) 6

Joy to the world?

Proclaiming Good News during a Pandemic Rev. Starlette Thomas, Managing Editor

December 2020- January 2021

This pandemic, caused by COVID-19, has taught us many things. The lessons include learning what we can live without, what we can do without, what we really need now that we are living and working from home and cannot go from house to house.

It compels us to look at what we have and give serious consideration to what brings us Joy.

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And we certainly need it with all the death that surrounds, with the number of deaths and the rate of infections in the U.S. going up instead of down.

It is tempting to keep our heads down or to move under a rock since it seems that the sky is falling anyway. What can we say to ourselves and our family? What can we say as people of faith to our God? What is the message during a global pandemic?

Can we still say, “Joy to the world?” Yes, because joy is resistance. It is an act of defiance, pushing back on the temptation to lean into despair and hopelessness. Joy is a vision, looking beyond but not past. And we can preach about that. I have a few pastors who would agree to that. They have agreed to reflect on joy for this article.

The Reverend Patricia Fears, pastor of Fellowship Baptist Church in Washington, D.C. who quotes Frank Thomas in How to Preach a Dangerous Sermon that preaching is as “a terrible joy,” said, “Prayerfully, the preaching of the gospel is constantly evolving along with the messenger and the hearers of the Word. The pandemic stop(ped) a flow, and disrupted patterns. So, for me preaching shifted in an attempt to keep up with the changes.”

Pastor at Alafia Baptist Church in Mount Rainier, Maryland, The Reverend Dr. Kayode Opadeji says, “As this pandemic is still ravaging, it has not left out the church of God. Gathering of people for Sunday worship services, midweek worship services, and prayer meetings were suspended for months this year. Surely, directly and indirectly, this pandemic has affected preaching and constrained most preachers to focus on messages

of hope.”

The Reverend Emily Holladay, pastor at Village Baptist Church in Bowie, Maryland shares on the struggle, “At one point this summer, I preached on the story of Jacob wrestling with the divine being in order to receive a blessing. After wrestling all night and into the morning, Jacob receives his blessing, but walks away with a limp. I shared with my congregation that this story resonates with what it is like to preach during a pandemic; Each week, I wrestle with the Scripture to find a morsel of hope. And, yes, each week, I walk away with both a blessing and a limp, but it has certainly been a challenge.

The Reverend Bo Chang, pastor of Glory Baptist Church in Silver Spring, Maryland shares, “It's been real-time challenge understanding and answering people suffering the loss of loved ones, fearing for own life, questions about God and His protection for His people, and many other concerns. Human extinction by a mutation of a virus seems a real possibility. What will be next?

We have to rethink the growing scientific knowledge, technology, and also more unknown realities appearing in front of humanity as well. …” Clearly, these pastors and so many others are thinking through what it means to preach the gospel during a pandemic and it is no easy task but it is clear that the gospel is Joy.

144th Annual Gathering

“Embrace: Rediscovering the Call to Fellowship”

By Rev. Starlette Thomas, Managing Editor

On October 22-23, the 144th Annual Gathering of member churches was held virtually for the first time in the D.C. Baptist Convention’s history. Its theme, “Embrace: Rediscovering the Call for Fellowship,” centered the meeting around camaraderie. Hebrews 10:24-25 was the Annual Gathering’s inspiration and focal verse. Participants met on the virtual platform instead of the parking lot.

The gathering began with dual convocations, one meeting geared toward older adults and the other for clergy. The Older Adult Convocation, themed “A Healthy Mind Signifies a Healthy Body,” long a favorite and well- attended in years past, offered three presentations from Reverends Diane E. Hugger and Jevon Billups as well as Wendy Johnson, the owner of Senior Helps. The Ministers Convocation featured an interview on “Might from the Margins: A Call to the Church” with the Rev. Dr. Dennis Edwards, facilitated by Rev. Paula Moutsos, associate pastor at Pathways Baptist Church. Questions flooded the chat box, proof that the discussion was timely and warranted. The business session, “Emerging Voices,” which featured new preachers and pastors, as well as the evening worship service featured music from

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our member churches. Rev. Lauren Ng, director of Leadership Empowerment at the American Baptist Home Mission Societies (ABHMS), delivered an impassioned message.

Exhibitors were not left out of the gathering but were given virtual booths where they made presentations and had extended conversations during the breaks with attendees. No bumping into each other in the hallway as in years’ past, this allowed persons to catch up with familiar faces and partners who have long supported the Annual Gathering and new vendors who were excited to be a part of our fellowship.

The second day began with mid- day worship led by Rev. Dr. Wallis Baxter, III, pastor of Second Baptist Church SW with the message being provided by the Rev. Dr. Trisha Miller Manarin, the Executive Director/Minister followed by ministry intensives that focused on the postpandemic church, emerging generations, healthy partnerships and concluded with a bonus on social justice.

Joy comes!

By Lashanor Doolittle, Treasurer This year, as many have shared previously, has been an unprecedented year. For the first time, some of us have seen and experienced things such as a pandemic, closing the “physical” doors of many church buildings for an extended time, hospitals at their capacity, complete shutdown of cities, all coupled with the shortage of needed supplies.

Lord makes our plans succeed, the Lord grants ALL our requests, the Lord gives victory, so we trust in the name of our Lord. I love the assurance we receive from reading this passage, and it gives us all a reason to be joyful. As we move through the next few months, let us remember to keep our eyes focused on our Father, who gives us full assurance of His faithfulness.

We have experienced the ripple effect that the Covid-19 pandemic has had on the economy, our families, and our churches. Some churches have experienced an uptick of giving through this season, while others have had challenges in making payroll and fulfilling other standing obligations. It has been no different for the DC Baptist Convention.

However, Psalm 30:5 reminds us that, “…his favor is for a lifetime. Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning.” This scripture reminds us that there is an end to our challenging times, and JOY comes. JOY COMES!! We choose “joy” and celebrate all that we have been able to do this year because of the generosity of individuals, our member churches, and the DCBC Foundation.

We want to thank the many churches who responded to the “request” for financial assistance and for the DCBC Foundation for gifting the DCBC with an additional $100,000 to help minimize the budget shortfall for this year.

We continue to give praise for the partnerships with Carmody Hills, Centerpoint, Dayspring, East Washington Heights, Forest Heights, Fort Foote, Hillandale, Hyattsville, Metropolitan, National Memorial, Nations United, Paramount, St. Mary’s, The Pennsylvania Avenue, Third, and West Hyattsville Baptist churches that provided food, census information, meals for seniors, and goodie bags for children in their communities.

A dear friend recently shared Psalm 20 with me.

The words of this passage remind us that: the Lord answers us when we have difficulties, the Lord protects us, the Lord sends help, the Lord provides support, the Lord gives us our heart’s desire, the 10

MVP: A Testimony of Hope

By Eliberto Juarez In a society where darkness and fear have gripped so many young people, the schools of El Salvador have become the only safe place for young people to gather. Their doors provide access to a safe haven for so many who, outside of the school building, must fight against the dangers of gangs who harass them and their families. Yet once they pass through the door into the school, these youth can breathe easy for a few hours in the comfort of their peers and mentors. For this reason, MVP is a ministry that goes into the schools to provide lessons of peace and hope for students. Through education we empower students with values and principles that equip them to face adversity. And while this can feel like an impossible task, we believe that God has equipped MVP to serve and strengthen the next generation, so that they might be the agents of change who build a new future for themselves and for El Salvador.

El Salvador, a small country in Central America, has faced many challenges in the past 50 years: a civil war that left many children orphaned, endless migration that has left families split across borders, economic and political problems, along with gang presence and other illicit groups. These challenges seem to strip our children and youth of any hope that a different world is possible. These young people must try to find their way in the midst of much pain and hopelessness. And while the country has a plethora of churches, both protestant and catholic, these faith communities have not been able to bring to life a message of hope and reconciliation for El Salvador’s youth.

In this complicated setting, driven by these complexities facing our young people, MVP was born. MVP (which stands for Mision Vida y Paz, in English Mission Life and Peace) is an educational tool that pulls key elements from the Gospels and transforms them into practical actions, easy for young people to learn and adopt into their own routines. MVP offers a small light to illuminate an otherwise dark valley, where the hope of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the strength of education come together to empower the young people of El Salvador through the hope of God’s kingdom of peace. We believe that transformation is possible, and that if we come together we can build a new way into a future of hope for these children, their families, and their communities.

And so we bow before God to ask for wisdom, praying that God might fill us with grace and power to share this message of hope with those students who so desperately need to know there is hope for a brighter future through the power of our God of peace and life.

MVP is led by Molly and Eliberto Juarez, endorsed global servants with American Baptist’s International Ministries. They are seeking partners in mission to help spread this message of hope in El Salvador. Learn more at www.internationalministries.org/author/juarez/.

Our vision through MVP is to work towards the utopia that is the Kingdom of God, where all experience the dignity of human life, peace and harmony, and a lifestyle of serving and loving our neighbors as ourselves. We believe that our children and youth can find God’s message of hope to be like fresh living water.

Through MVP, we invite churches to join this journey as well, to become co-laborers for the Kingdom of God, working for peace, justice, and love to reign in our communities.

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An Advent Litany (Based on “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel” )

By Rev. Dr. Trisha Miller Manarin, Executive Director/Minister

O come, O come, Emmanuel God with us, In these days of masking and social distancing, sanitizer and the absence of almost anything expected this time of year, Lord, come among us In these days where an invisible virus steals breath from individuals and conjures worry among all across the globe, Come abide with us In these days of loneliness, political uncertainty, racial injustice, abundance and scarcity Christ Jesus live beside us When we fail you, O God and fail one another, When we are so wrapped in our own worries, we no longer see the need of our sister or brother And when we rely upon our own strength and forget about your Holy Spirit....

Lord, in this moment of silent reflection, hear our confessions...

O God, who is with us, Forgive us and dwell among us O come, O come, Emmanuel - around the globe, across racial, economic and ethnic backgrounds be present with those of us who suffer – For those dying from diseases which have been eradicated in more so-called-developed nations and those dying from COVID19, For those starving for lack of food, love, or protection, For those who are stricken by acts of gross injustice, For those haunted by demons named and unnamed Emmanuel, come, be with us When we cry and when we celebrate, When we choose an empty stable and when the stable seems to be our only option, When we dream and when our dreams have been shattered, When we are touched by your love through others and when we reach out with your love, May we acknowledge you have come to be among us, Jesus.

O come, O come, Emmanuel, may your Holy Spirit give us strength to stand up and raise our heads that we might share Your Good News of Hope Peace Joy and Love as we find ourselves in your story.

Sing O Come, O Come, Emmanuel AMEN 13

Church Announcements

Rev. Dr. Eldridge Spearman retires as Mount Jezreel celebrates 147- year history and is named pastor emeritus.

December 2020- January 2021

Rev. Dr. Eldridge Spearman was honored for his eighteen years of pastoral ministry via livestream during an online service. An in- person celebration is being planned after the pandemic caused by COVID-19.

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CityGate celebrates twenty years of ministry.

Beginning in 2001 with an afterschool program at the Johenning Baptist Community Center at the invitation of the D.C. Baptist Convention, CityGate prepares to celebrate twenty years of faithful ministry in solidarity and in community.

Mount Jezreel Baptist Church calls the Rev. Dr. Jamison Douglas Hytche Hunter as pastor.

A native of Texas, Hunter completed the Bachelor of Arts degree from

University of Maryland Eastern Shore, the Master of Divinity degree from Howard University School of Divinity and the Doctor of Ministry degree from the United Theological Seminary. Hunter is the church’s 8th pastor.

Judson Press releases a new book examining systemic racial injustice.

With Liberty and Justice for Some: The Bible, the Constitution, and Racism in America by Susan K. Williams Smith argues that the Bible and the Constitution, both deemed sacred by some, have been used not to rid the world of racism but instead, is employed to support and sustain white supremacy.

The Rev. Gloria Grant Retires as Coordinator for Older Adult Ministries.

An invaluable ministry leader, Grant as served in support of and to advance the work and witness of older adults in our member churches for 8 years.

Rev. Dr. Patricia Hernandez shares the joy of her dad’s recognition.

A member of the DCBC Burma Work Group, the Reverend Charles B. Mercer was recently recognized as a distinguished alumnus at Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School in Rochester, New York for his work in ordained ministry. He and his wife Marie Mercer were named co-recipients of the Cora and John Sparrowk President’s Award at the Biennial Mission Summit last year. (continued on page 15)

Church Announcements

ABC- USA moves June 2020 women in ministry conference to June 2022 and announces Rev. Dr. Trinette V. McCray as its speaker.

“Celebrating Ministering Women: Radical. Redeemed. Ready.” American Baptist women in ministry are invited to meet on June 15-18, 2022 at the Green Lake Conference Center in Green Lake, Wisconsin.

Dr. Janet Henley celebrates 40 years of ministry.

Dr. Henley has served in Christian ministry for forty years at Clifton Park Baptist Church in Silver Spring, Maryland.

IM missionaries welcome a son.

Our ABC-USA’s IM missionaries, Molly and Eliberto Juarez had a baby boy, Elliot Markus, on October 1, 2020.

Rev. Dr. Mwase is now a grandfather.

Rev. Dr. Isaac Mwase of University Baptist Church Baltimore is a new grandfather!

Tafadzwa was born on October 26, 2020.

(continued from page 6) As we venture through Advent into Christmas onto 2021 and Epiphany, may we wear garland. As we don the fragrant greenery of life, we look forward to what God has in store for us. In the New Year, we will try some new things and engage some new projects; we will wander as we wonder; and we will bear each other up in endless possibilities! While we will miss gathering together in person for our Christmas celebration, I pray you will be enveloped in joy, even if perhaps you feel a bit blue. If you need some help with your garland, we are here to be with you. Part of the second stanza in the Spelman song says: Remember we are “Christ among us” and we live for his cause To fulfill his purpose daily as we bring Joy to all We are comfort for the hurting, mending each broken heart We are friends to the lonesome and unite those far apart …

Brothers and sisters, may the joy of living Lord be with you this holy season!

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What’s #Trending?

By Rev. Starlette Thomas, Managing Editor

December 2020- January 2021

In

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America today, there is one

word that cannot be avoided, one conversation increasingly becoming less taboo and more talked about.

Race. Pushed to the forefront by national and international protests, placed directly in our faces through video-recordings taken with phones of routine traffic stops turned deadly, there was a national response to the shooting and often times, death of unarmed African American men and women. Books on race and its progeny quickly became bestsellers as social justice advocates and new allies felt called and compelled to learn more about race and why it continues to wreak havoc on American streets.

But another word would also emerge in response— anti- racist. This was the goal, what persons who believed in justice and equality needed to become. It was not enough to be sad or to have compassion, the word called for personal transformation.

Persons would need to become antiracist, against.

And it is not new. Activist and professor, Angela Davis came to this conclusion during the Civil Rights Movement. She said, “In a society that is racist, it is not enough to be

“In a society that is racist, it is not enough to be non- racist, we must be anti- racist.” | Angela Davis

non- racist, we must be anti- racist.” For Davis and countless others, additional steps and measures must be taken to ensure the mental health, physical safety and social well- being of all Americans.

And it’s not going away, no matter how much we talk about it. Because we haven’t said enough, haven’t done enough, haven’t changed as much as we would like to believe. Instead, we are invited to listen more closely, to feel more deeply, to walk more faithfully with those who are preyed upon and marginalized by our society.

Division is trending in politics. Red and blue states, persons have drawn party lines in the sand. It’s trending in churches as pastors and members struggle to have difficult conversations. Some are leaving the pulpits and some are leaving the pews. What would Jesus do?

It’s trending in homes across the country as younger generations lead their parents in conversations on antiracism work and the normalization of cross- cultural relations. It’s trending on Twitter and other social media platforms, hash-tagging its way to the top of our minds.

Because this is not a fluke, a happenstance occurrence due solely to the pandemic. Instead, it has been trending in many communities for centuries. Talking about race and its progeny has been a survival technique. And now the conversation is taking place in every community and if our democracy is to remain, we have to make it trendy to talk about it, no longer a taboo subject in politics, pulpits or in our homes. We’ve got to make it all safe space. That could be the next trend.

Meeting People Where They Are How A Traditioned Innovation Approach Can Support Vulnerable Populations During the Pandemic

By Rosalind Porter, Wesley Theological Seminary Intern Eight months into a pandemic and life is anything but ordinary. We plan our outings to escape the crowds. At times, we may wonder if the person who coughs and refuses to socially distance themselves from us at the grocery store has COVID-19. The doors of the Church are not open, and yes, times are anything but ordinary.

How has the Church responded to vulnerable populations during this pandemic? Is it enough that the Church has supplied Dorcas’s closet to give us the alms we have come to expect from the Church, or do we need more? If the Church is not doing enough—what do we need to do? One approach would be to utilize a traditioned innovation approach to support some of the most vulnerable amid the pandemic.

Traditioned innovation is a way of thinking and living that points toward the future in light of the past, a habit of being that requires both a deep fidelity to the tradition that has borne us to the present and a radical openness to the innovations that will carry us forward. Traditioned innovation names an inner-biblical way of thinking theologically about the texture of human life in the context of God’s gracious and redemptive selfdisclosure. Christian organizations and churches have long engaged in innovation within our existing structures. We have typically called it bearing witness to the Holy Spirit, the One who is making all things new. To apply the traditioned innovation approach during this pandemic, we must look for opportunities to restructure our traditional programs and services.

For example, many state programs and initiatives designed to stave off eviction will (or have, in some cases) come to an end. Likewise, unemployment and food supplement benefit programs have been reduced or ended for many in need during the pandemic. Looking from a “traditional” lens, one would look toward ramping up the clothing drive or food pantry within the Church. Requesting a special

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collection is no longer viable. What is viable is creating a solution that provides food and fellowship for congregations who may have been hungering from both a spiritual and physical perspective. Churches that have fellowship halls can combine worship services with a light meal.

Some congregations have utilized this practice as part of an outreach ministry. Consider this model as a ‘multiple service option.’ Reservations are made to account for attendance and provide safe distancing adequately. One-way entrance and exits deter surprise guests from a side entrance and allow for easy check-ins upon arrival. Keeping sermons short (15 minutes) will allow the pastor to have multiple services. Instead of a single two-hour service, you can have two forty-five-minute services with time to wipe down surfaces. With the winter months approaching, now is the time to determine if your HVAC units are equipped to maintain air quality adequately. To get information on ventilation and air recirculation, you can visit the World Health Organization.

“Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it” (Romans 12.2, MSG). We do that by trying a new thing or joining the old and the new to create something relevant today.

The Leland Center

Justice Formation Fellowship: “For Such a Time as This”

By Dr. Drew Hill

Last summer during my sabbatical, I made an unforgettable journey, a civil rights

pilgrimage across our country. Beginning here in D.C. at the Smithsonian Museum of African American History, I travelled to Farmville, Greensboro, Atlanta, Anniston, Birmingham, Selma, Montgomery, Jackson, Sumner, and Memphis. I walked over each site and through every museum and institute, listening and learning along the way. For two weeks I stared into the face of racism, the dark, ugly side of humanity.

One of the most troubling aspects of the Civil Rights Movement for me was the pitifully few white churches that supported the cause of equality and racial justice. For the most part, white churches across the South did their best to enforce an unjust status quo, silently condoning the violence and terror unleashed on people of color, even little children.

Little did I realize all that would transpire in the year since I made my journey, the innocent lives that would be taken or the revitalized movement that would grip our nation. Once again, our country has come to a crossroads of conscience, an opportunity to strike a real blow to systemic racism. And I can’t help but wonder, will our churches once again fail to live out the Gospel we profess, or can we finally find our voice and stand for the dignity and worth of all people?

I am humbled and privileged to stand alongside my fellow pastors, black and white, for the cause of racial justice as an expression of God’s justice and righteousness. The time has come for all followers of Christ to come together in community, united in purpose, committed to our common standing as children of God. For this cause, the Justice Formation Fellowship has been established.

A strong, open, diverse fellowship of churches is essential in times like these because within our individual congregations there is little diversity. Most churches, including the congregation I serve, reflect the demographics of their community which remain largely homogeneous. Segregated churches often reflect segregated neighborhoods.

So, how can our churches stand for radical inclusion if there is no one around to include? We pray for the day when our communities will nurture a beautiful variety of color and culture. But for today, for this moment, the answer is a coalition of diverse congregations coming together in genuine fellowship and common cause. The answer is the Justice Formation Fellowship.

In times like these, standing down is surrender. Standing still is cowardice. Standing up is a beginning. Standing together is a revolution. Come stand with us and see what God can do.

Dr. Drew Hill is the senior pastor at Memorial Baptist Church in Arlington, Virginia.

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Church Gifts Lashanor Doolittle, Treasurer

The Watch Night Tradition By Rev. Starlette Thomas, Managing Editor

Stay awake. We do it for television, binge watching our favorite shows or waiting in line for a late- night viewing of a new movie. We stay awake for parties, going to bed in the middle of the day to ensure that we are able to enjoy the festivities later. We do it for sports games because we need to see who will win and fear that if we are not rooting for them from the sidelines of our couch, to the very end and right up to the buzzer, then our team’s defeat is certain. We stay awake for our entertainment and due to the excitement of an event or the opportunity to be with friends and family members.

Made a part of a worship routine that started back on January 1, 1863.

We do it for exams. As students, we used to huddle in libraries and dormitories, cramming in formulas and facts for fear of failure.

Caffeine is our study partner and books are our closest companions. Deadlines are our timekeepers. To sleep then is defeat.

Freedom. It is something all Christians should keep a look out for. So, tempting it is to be bound by our traditions and rituals, our buildings and the way we do things, our visions for this year and the next. If this pandemic has taught us anything, it is that despite our vision boards, themes and mantras, we don’t know what the year will bring. Like Jesus and his first disciples, like African Americans back in 1863, waiting to hear word of their freedom from oppression due to American slavery, it is good for us to watch and pray.

The need to be awake serves us well not only with regard to entertainment or education.

But, the need for awareness and attentiveness is required in all of life. To be sure, “To be asleep at the wheel” is not a compliment. And if you are, then I pray, “Jesus, take the wheel.”

Still, we are responsible for life and its thoughtful living.

Jesus asked his disciples to stay awake while praying in the Garden of Gethsemane. For Jesus, his prayer life was a matter of life or death. In his greatest hour of need, he wanted company, for persons to keep watch with him and pray. This was perhaps the first Watch Night service and another is like it. African Americans kept watch for freedom so it is often called “Freedom’s Eve.” 22

An Epiphany Litany

By Rev. Dr. Trisha Miller Manarin, Executive Director/Minister Like those who followed the star We come to see Jesus They came bearing gifts of great significance We come only bringing ourselves They came on bended knee worshiping the long-awaited One We come bending down knowing we have not yet arrived but are eager to be fully transformed They came one way and returned another We come eager to experience the newness of Jesus in an uncertain time so we might go forward changed and ready for the approaching days They knew the star would bring them to Jesus We know the true light is Jesus and so we come offering ourselves to him on this Epiphany

Sing A chosen Epiphany Carol http://www.theafricanamericanlectionary.org/PopupWorshipAid.asp?LRID=63 http://www.traditionalmusic.co.uk/epiphany-hymns/ AMEN

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The Benediction

By Rev. Starlette Thomas, Managing Editor

Joy.

C.S. Lewis said, “All Joy reminds. It is never a possession, always a desire

for something longer ago or further away or still ‘about to be.’” I think that he is right and I would agree. He capitalizes the word as it should be capitalized on. Joy is one of the best emotions. It was the last word that I heard in my conversation with Dr. Maya Angelou on her tour bus. She signed my book Joy. Joy invites me to close my eyes, tilt my head upward towards the sun and smile as its rays dance on my face. I take it all in and say, “Mmmm.” I am remembering something sweet, something fun, some experience unique, something that brought me pure joy. Joy is a reminder.

Joy does not belong to me but it is part of history. But it is not only past but present memory. Joy is also in the future. You and I can feel joy for what is about to be or even could be. Joy can come to us or like our assistant editor, Loretta Polite- Shipman, who is a joy hunter, you can seek it out. She found this nugget on the Bible App YouVersion: “Sometimes, we need to remember that we are not alone and that we still have a part to play in God’s plans. Our circumstances don’t cancel out God’s goodness. God is always doing unprecedented things, even during “unprecedented times.”

‘Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert’” (Isaiah 43:19).

Joy is always with us. It is found in the playful rustle of the leaves, in the cool breeze tossing our hair about, in imagining of what may happen and remembering what will always be. Joy is not a season, not trapped in time, not the possession of one people or another, one faith over the other. Joy is not even a state of mind, something we choose or wave away.

No, Joy is here to stay. As the songwriter says, “I need that joy, joy, joy, joy/ down in my heart, down in my heart to stay/ “I need that joy, joy, joy, joy/ down in my heart, down in my heart to stay.” No matter how dark the times or difficult the day, we can’t make it or wish it away. We do not direct it and are in no position to tell it where to go or stay.

It is simply a reminder. Joy is present to jog and to refresh our memory. It is the nudge we need when things are not going as we had planned, the cue that there is more to come in this life. Joy brings to mind what was and what God says will be.

May this Joy be yours, to prompt you, to recollect you, to prod and revive you.

We have lost a lot but we still have Joy. Amen.

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Capital Baptist Magazine Published bi-monthly by the District of Columbia Baptist Convention 1628 16th Street NW • Washington, DC 20009 Telephone: 202.265.1526 or Email: starlette.thomas@dcbaptist.org Unless stated, opinions in Capital Baptist Magazine do not express the official position of the DC Baptist Convention.

Capital Baptist Magazine D.C. Baptist Convention 1628 16th Street NW • Washington, D.C. 20009