NURTURING RECONCILIATION: Celebrating Black History Month
In the US, February is known for several things to celebrate. When I recently asked several colleagues about what we celebrate in America during February, I got a few answers. Valentine’s Day was by far the response of most. This was followed by a few other holiday responses: President’s Day/Washington’s Birthday and Ash Wednesday (and a friend from New Orleans of course chimed in with “Mardi Gras!”). Those are all correct, but it wasn’t the answer I was looking for necessarily. No not Groundhog’s day either. Here’s the thing: only two people responded with “Black History Month”…and of course, both of them were Black. This sort of bothered me, because it’s Black History month, not just for Black Americans, but for all Americans. We can all reflect on Black American Christians who have inspired us, challenged us and stirred us. So we at VJN would like to invite you all to a series this month focused and centering on celebrating Black History Month together.We have several great people joining and contributing – both Black Americans and White Americans, men and women – so tomorrow, we’ll kick things off, hoping that this might spark you to want to contribute – or at least celebrate with us!!!
One of our contributors – my friend Ramon Mayo! – has a great Christian devotional book that runs through the story of Black Americans and their faith journeys. You can get it now discounted on Amazon.com: His Story, Our Story: A 31-Day Black History Devotional
by Steven Hamilton, VJN Steering Committee Member
His Story, Our Story is a 31-day Black History devotional. It is a collection of biographical sketches on great figures in African American history along with devotional thoughts, discussion questions and prayers on themes from the Bible. It connects the journey of African Americans with the God who sustained and liberated them. Containing biographical information on a variety of different characters in Black History, His Story Our Story uses the heritage of African Americans to help you go forward in your spiritual journey.