Watchnight/Freedom's Eve 2020
One of the marks of unity held by Churches Uniting in Christ is racial justice and equality. In order to help our member congregations (and any interested Christians) explore that mark during the end-of-the-year holidays, we have put together the following congregational aides. For the holidays of: All Saints Day, Thanksgiving and Watchnight, we have invited renowned Christians to teach about the holiday through the lens of racial justice and to lead worship and/or preach about the holiday. We are also including some liturgies and prayers to help you use these videos in your congregational context. Please do use them in your context in whatever way works for you. There is no restriction.
Overview
New Year’s Eve for many North Americans is a time of parties and the final countdown of the year. But think about what it was for slaves in the US in 1862. Through the teaching of Dr. John Kinney, Professor of Theology and Director of the Center for African American Pentecostalism and Leadership Development at Virginia Union University; and preaching of Bishop LaTrelle Easterling, Presiding Bishop of the Baltimore-Washington Conference of the United Method Church, we invite you to experience how New Year’s Eve was, and is, a watch night for something better coming.
The resources include a link to an updated article, with further resourceful links built within, by the editors of Encyclopedia Britannica; a link to Journey Proud, a 26-minute documentary video on the meaning and celebration of Watch Night by the National Endowment of the Arts, August 2017; a chapter on Watchnight (which includes a litany) from More African American Special Days by Dr. Cheryl A. Kirk-Duggan, Professor of Religion and Women’s Studies at Shaw University; and a litany for Watchnight/Freedom’s Eve by the Fourth-Quarter Subcommittee, CUIC.
Note: In her Watchnight Sermon, Bishop LaTrelle Easterling preached from Luke 17:1-6.