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Minister
and President’s Message
Amistad story is about the soul of the United Church
of Christ
May,
2003
By
Nancy S. Taylor
The story of the 53 Mendi captives who rose up against their oppressors
- the Amistad story - is about the soul of the United Church of Christ.
This is so because freedom from slavery is a fundamental interest of
our God. The God of the Exodus loves and liberates slaves and Jesus
was sent “to proclaim release to the captives…and to set at liberty
those who are oppressed.” (Luke 4: 18)
No wonder that an abolitionist heart beat in the breasts of early
Congregationalists. It was on the basis of profound Christian convictions
that they raised
money, raised their voices in legislatures and courts of law, raised
consciousness through sermons and tracts, and raised up prayers to
participate in the Underground Railroad, free slaves and end slavery.
Let those who proclaim an aversion to “church and politics” take
note: the politics of abolition, like that of the civil rights
movement (and,
indeed, the politics of all movements of human liberation), is a
profoundly churchly business.
In
March all 430 UCC congregations in Massachusetts received an
Amistad mailing. This included a beautiful poster, a bulletin
insert, and a letter. A mailing was sent to both your church
moderator and pastor. The letter gives specific details of
the Amistad’s visit and outlines our need to raise $90,000.
Thus far, largely by individual donations, we have raised over
$15,000. Now we need to hear from the churches. We are seeking
100% participation from our churches for this historic and
important project.
How can your church
support the Amistad’s visit? Allocate a gift from your mission,
outreach or church budget.
Organize a fundraising event. Take
up a special offering. Solicit individual contributions. A member of
the congregation might be moved to issue a matching
challenge. Your church
might have a special fund that could provide a grant.
Any gift is welcome,
appreciated, and received with deep gratitude. Checks can
be made out to MACUCC and marked
“Amistad.”
Visit our Amistad
resource section for more information.
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Thanks, in no small part to our forebears in the faith, the moral
argument against slavery has been won. Yet slavery still exists.
There are millions
of enslaved people around the world today, victims of a global
$7 billion-a-year business. Some are born into slavery; others
are trapped
by debt, or
lured into bondage, or sold into it, or abducted…or some terrible
combination of these.
My heart is heavy with the knowledge of slavery in the Sudan, India,
Mauritania and Bangladesh. My heart breaks when I read the CIA’s report
on slave trafficking in the United States.
When the Massachusetts Conference of the United Church of Christ
brings the Freedom Schooner Amistad to Boston Harbor, October 14-26,
2003
we will all have opportunity to learn more about the tragic phenomenon
of modern day slavery. Indeed, we will have opportunity to learn
together and talk together about a wide range of issues of race
and justice.
Why work so hard and raise money to bring the Amistad to Boston Harbor?
The following, is the mission statement of the Amistad to Boston
Host Committee:
“Amistad to Boston will inspire citizens of New England to recommit
themselves to the public virtues (values) of courage, liberty
and equality for all people in our time. It retells the story of
Africans,
kidnapped
and held captive on the Schooner Amistad, rebelling, then imprisoned
in 1839. American patriots, including John Quincy Adams, won
their freedom in the United Sates Supreme Court in 1841.
“We will encourage students and adults to visit the Amistad in
Boston Harbor, October 14-26. We will provide an array of cultural
and educational
programs focusing on the Amistad Incident and its implication
for reflection and action on modern day slavery, racism and
injustice.”
We can only fulfill this churchly mission with the financial,
spiritual, and prayerful support of our churches.
Con amistad y en fe (With friendship and in faith).
