THE CASE FOR RENEWING REFORMATION CHURCH-CHICAGO (Needed: A Key Reimagined African Descent Strategy Team Ministry) PART 1

"Lazarus (God has helped), come out...unbind him, and let him go."  -John 11:43b, 44b, NRSV- 

"Lazarus's (resurrection) ...one of the most important miracles performed by Christ.  The name in allusion signifies the miracle of resurrection."  -Dictionary of Classical, Biblical, & Literary Allusions-

"What we heard...the relationship between the African Descent strategy team and the African Descent Community is broken.  There is hurt in the community that also needs to be addressed."  -Report from Retreat with African-American and African Descent Leaders, September 21, 2015-

"In 1983, I decided to become a community organizer...When my classmates in college asked me just what it was that  community organizers did, I couldn't answer them directly.  Instead, I pronounced on the need for change...Change won't come from the top, I would say.  Change will come from the grassroots.  That's what I'll do, I'll organize black folks.  At the grassroots for change."  -Barack Obama, "Dreams from My Father" p. 133 (1995).

1. Rethinking Africana Strategies and Saving Historic Reformation-Chicago (Young Barack Obama's Community Organizing Sanctuary)

1.1 One of the best kept secrets of the Far South Side's Reformation Church-Chicago (MCS/ELCA) is the burning fact that from 1985 to 1988 plus, our historic African American Lutheran house of worship served as the community organizing sanctuary of young Mr. Barack Obama and his embryonic Developing Communities Project (DCP).

1.2  We supported young Obama and his project as an in-kind-contribution to his then employer, Calumet Community Religious Conference (CCRC)-to which we were members-and its then inner-city outreach arm, DCP-in which we were key participants.

1.3  Note: Contrary to popular belief, young Barack Obama migrates to Chicago, from the Northeast Corridor, not just once but twice.

1.4 The first time young Obama migrates to Chicago from New York City to serve, from 1985 to 1988 plus, as a grassroots community organizing employee of Calumet Community Religious Conference (CCRC) a predominantly Euro-American Roman Catholic-led  interfaith coalition of South Suburban and Far South Side churches formed based on Saul Alinsky community organizing principles.

1.5  Specifically, young Obama was tasked with organizing CCRC’s Developing Communities Project (DCP) as its predominantly African American faith-based outreach arm.  Reformation was both a member of CCRC as well as DCP.  Accordingly, young Obama worked out of our Church as an-in-kind contribution to both initiatives.  In fact, DCP’s first office, headed by young Obama, was housed at Reformation.

1.6  After further successfully organizing DCP as a fully independent, not-for-profit organization and becoming its first Executive Director, young Obama decided to leave Chicago to attend Harvard University Law School. 

1.7  Young Obama returns to Chicago in 1991, this time from the Boston area, professionally trained as a distinguished Harvard University Law School graduate, freelance writer, University of Chicago Law School Visiting Law and Government Fellow and voter registration Campaign Director of Illinois Project Vote.

1.8  Reformation’s Young Barack Obama Fellowship Hall for Racial and Social Justice (YOUNGSTICE)-dedicated by us during 2013 Kwanzaa holidays-naturally emphasizes the former young Obama period over the latter because of its organic relationship to our own journey story.  Accordingly, YOUNGSTICE is organized to serve as an ongoing institutional voice routinely trumpeting our legacy as young Obama's community organizing sanctuary to our constituency and the world. 

1.9  More, YOUNGSTICE is organized to serve as common ground for other young Obamas (chronologically and at heart) to engage in a continuing intergenerational discussion on the role of the Black Church (and other inner-city churches) in addressing ongoing and current critical issues confronting African Americans (and other inner-city communities) all for improving Black community engagement and the common good.

1.10  Heretofore, Reformation's clergy and lay leadership, although vaguely aware of the Congregation's Obama legacy, had been unable to articulate said legacy as a part of its core identity.  More, the old African American Strategy Team, absent Reformation's own much-needed new self-understanding, could not effectively imagine and incorporate Reformation's young Obama legacy into its own mission plan.

1.11  Now, finally, Reformation has firmly established its legacy and identity as young Mr. Obama's community organizing sanctuary.   It therefore follows that the way is finally open for Reformation-Chicago's clearly articulated identity, as a historic African American Lutheran Congregation and house of worship, to be incorporated into the new African Descent mission plan as work in progress. 

1.12  Clearly, the story of Reformation (rightly understood) stands as a valuable contribution to the  unfolding reimagined MCS/ELCA African Descent Strategy Team plan.  Our story is at once an African Descent Lutheran, Metro Chicago Synod, ELCA Church-Wide, and Lutheran World Federation story.  We therefore offer it to serve as an important plank in the born-again African Descent Strategy Team's outreach platform, locally, regionally, nationally, and internationally. 

Respectfully submitted: Pastor Joel Washington (Khunanpu Sangoma) for Historic Reformation Church-Chicago, 11-5-15.   

 

Key Notes On Reformation's Black Nativity Meets Kwanzaa Jazz Vespers Holiday Service

1. About Langston Hughes' "Black Nativity-A Gospel Song Play."

1.1 Considered in his day as the "Poet Laureate of (Black) America" Langston Hughes (1902-1967) holds the distinction of being recognized as the first widely successful African American/African world freelance writer i.e., first Black writer to make his living solely by way of his work.

1.2 During the late 1940s and early 1950s Hughes, via trial and error, created a new literary genre which he called "the gospel-song play."

1.3 "Black Nativity (1953)" -then and now- stands as the most successful of Hughes's gospel-song plays (winning not only national but international acclaim).

1.4 More, to date, "Black Nativity" is the most popular holiday revival theater production among both Black Theater artists and audiences alike.   Note: The recent 2013 movie production, released during that year's holiday season, Co-Produced by T. D. Jakes, starring Forest Whitaker, Angela Bassett, and Jennifer Hudson, and easily accessible on the internet is a dramatic case in point of Hughes' gospel-song-play holiday popularity.

2. About Kwanzaa.

2.1 Created in 1966 by Dr. Maulana Karenga, Professor and Chair of Africana Studies at CSULB, Kwanzaa is the most widely celebrated African cultural holiday both in the U.S. and throughout the African world. 

2.2  Set apart as a time of ingathering of Africana families, communities, and cultures, as well as a time for, to use the words of Dr. Karenga,  "recommitment to the best of what it means to be African and human in the fullest sense," Kwanzaa is not necessarily in contrast with but serves as a compliment to Hughes' "Black Nativity."

2.3 The above said Reformation Church-Chicago's service of BLACK NATIVITY MEETS KWANZAA JAZZ VESPERS (A Holidays Are Forever Candlelight Celebration) is envisioned as a unique combining of both excerpts from Hughes' popular Africana Christmas works as well as excerpts from his Black History and culture works covering both the Black American and African world experience and history-providing a segue to our Kwanzaa celebration.

3.  About Jazz Vespers.

3.1 Reformation's Jazz Vespers is an evening candlelight worship service organized to serve the African American Jazz community especially but not exclusively.  It is the key outreach arm of Reformation's Jazz Ministry to the Chicago's Africana activists' and artists' communities.  Ours is an uplifting spiritual and not simply and entertainment service.  Reformation's Jazz Vespers is emergent to uplift inner-city Chicago's engaged social actors and creative artists as well as their families and immediate communities.

The target launch dates for "Black Nativity Meets Kwanzaa Jazz Vespers" are Saturday evening, 26 December, 2015 and Sunday evening 27, December, 2015 respectively.

Respectfully submitted: Pastor Joel Washington (Khunanpu Sangoma) for Black Reformation Church-Updated 11/4/15.