Week 1
FEBRUARY 1
Our Pastors discuss Race and Faith.
FEBRUARY 2
One-and-Done Book Group His Truth is Marching On: John Lewis and the Power of Hope
7:00pm via Zoom | Register here. Offered again on Feb. 11.
FEBRUARY 3
Watch the WRAL documentary entitled Oberlin: A Village Rooted in Freedom.
FEBRUARY 4
Read or listen to Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr’s Letter from a Birmingham Jail.
FEBRUARY 5
FEBRUARY 6
Listen to Bryan Stevenson’s interview with Krista Tippett: Love Is the Motive.
FEBRUARY 7
Black History Month in Song with Stephen Aber and Sally Bates.
Week 2
FEBRUARY 8
Set a timer for ten minutes. Find a quiet place and a comfortable position. Spend the time in prayer considering our baptismal vows:
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Do you renounce the spiritual forces of wickedness, reject the evil powers of this world, and repent of your sin?
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Do you accept the freedom and power God gives you to resist evil, injustice, and oppression in whatever forms they present themselves?
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Do you confess Jesus Christ as your Savior, put your whole trust in his grace, and promise to serve him as your Lord, in union with the church which Christ has opened to people of all ages, nations, and races?
FEBRUARY 9
Watch Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man from Emmanuel Acho.
FEBRUARY 10
Beth and Hollis Baker discuss Race and Faith.
FEBRUARY 11
Take a Walking Tour of Oberlin Village Historic Sites with the Friends of Oberlin Village. Sign up here.
FEBRUARY 12
The word justice occurs more than 173 times in the Bible. Use Bible Gateway to search for the term justice and browse the results. Ask yourself: What is God’s justice like?
FEBRUARY 13
Worship with Wilson Temple UMC, Ebenezer Baptist Church, or Mother Emanuel AME Church.
FEBRUARY 14
Immerse yourself in the black experience through poetry. Check out the poetry collections at the Poetry Foundation:
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Poetry and the Civil Rights Movement: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/collections/146367/poetry-and-the-civil-rights-movement
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Celebrating Black History Month through Poetry: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/collections/101640/celebrating-black-history-month
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An Introduction to Poetry of the Harlem Renaissance: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/collections/145704/an-introduction-to-the-harlem-renaissance
Week 3
FEBRUARY 15
Listen to the NC Conference of the UMC’s podcast Voices on anti-racism efforts in our church.
FEBRUARY 16
Take a visit to the Pope House, to Raleigh’s Black Main Street, Durham’s Black Wall Street, or St. Augustine’s University. Walk around the area, learn the history, pray a prayer of reconciliation.
FEBRUARY 17
Read and pray Psalm 51:1-17 on this Ash Wednesday. Prayerfully consider how the sins of white supremacy and racism have infiltrated your own heart. Ask God to cleanse your heart and help you to become an anti-racist.
FEBRUARY 18
Watch one of PBS’s Ten Must-Watch Black History Documentaries.
FEBRUARY 19
Visit NCMA’s Contemporary Collection. Make sure to take a look at The Cotton Bowl.
FEBRUARY 20
Youth Ministry focus on Amanda Gorman's The Hill we Climb and Maya Angelou’s Still I Rise. Watch it here.
FEBRUARY 21
Take a virtual trip to the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C. There is so much to discover with online and digital content. It will whet your appetite to visit someday soon.
Week 4
FEBRUARY 22
Black History Month in Song with Stephen Aber and Sally Bates.
FEBRUARY 23
Kerney Peoples discusses Race and Faith with Kathryn Gamble.
FEBRUARY 24
Explore the life, legacy, and music of North Carolinian musician and Civil Rights activist Nina Simone. Listen and love her singing I Wish I Knew (How it Would Feel to Be Free) from 1976.
FEBRUARY 25
FEBRUARY 26
Listen to, read, and explore the 1619 Project from the New York Times with essays, podcasts, and articles about black history and experience in America since the first slaves were brought to Jamestown in 1619.
FEBRUARY 27
Listen to Brene Brown’s Unlocking Us podcast with author Austin Channing Brown discussing the book I’m Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness.
FEBRUARY 28
Send an email to your pastors about how you would like to continue exploring the way our Christian faith calls us to racial reconciliation and healing! Email Rick, Molly, and Adam.