Summer 2021
June 14, 2021
Churches Uniting in Christ Releases Resources for the Summer holidays: “Juneteenth, July 4th and Labor Day Through the Lens of Racial Equity”
Churches Uniting in Christ (CUIC), an ecumenical, multi-lateral dialogue among ten Protestant faith communions in the USA announces the release of new, ecumenical resources for local congregations to utilize during the upcoming summer season. The resources are designed to help local churches experience Juneteenth, July 4th, and Labor Day, through the lens of racial equity.
CUIC is chaired by Christian Methodist Episcopal Church Ecumenical Officer Bishop Teresa Jefferson-Snorton and is comprised of the following faith communions: The African Methodist Episcopal Church, The African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), The Christian Methodist Episcopal Church, The Episcopal Church, the International Council of Community Churches, the Moravian Church (Northern Province), the Presbyterian Church (USA), the United Church of Christ, and The United Methodist Church.
The resources have been created by ecumenical teams from the member communions and include teachers, preachers, and litanies from across the membership. The resources for the summer season include poetic work, refreshed lyrics to a familiar hymn tune, a sermon, and a litany. All are in formats that may be offered during virtual, hybrid, or in-person worship services. These resources are live on the CUIC website now at: https://www.churchesuniting.org/teaching-and-preaching.
Clergy and lay leaders from all ten CUIC member communions are encouraged to use these resources with their congregations for the summer season. For more information, and to learn who some of the practitioners are, and to view the summer resources as well as archives of past resources for All Saints Day, Thanksgiving, Watch Night, Lent, Easter, and Pentecost, go to: https://www.churchesuniting.org/teaching-and-preaching.
Churches Uniting In Christ, P. O. Box 13383, Birmingham, AL 35202, 205-202-6504
CUIC has prepared these resources for congregational use in this year’s Summer season. In this season, once again, God is empowering Christians who have experienced a new life through the suffering, death, and resurrection of Jesus by reminding them of the Holy Spirit. As Christians everywhere prepare to celebrate receiving the Holy Spirit who challenges Christ’s Church to go beyond its boundaries bringing a new understanding of life, the CUIC is offering the following ecumenical resources for your use.
Keon Heywood
Rev. Cairn Neely
Rev. Margaret Somerville
Rev. Dr. Karen Georgia Thompson
“Our Country May It Be”
by Rev. Margaret Somerville
“This reimagining of a traditional American patriotic hymn seeks to engage a more inclusive view of national pride and humility about the land we occupy.
The hope in presenting these alternative lyrics to a beloved hymn is to embrace the rich diversity of our land, uphold its indigenous roots, and look towards a nation united in justice for all.
The simple changing of the titular line from "my country" to "our country" and from "tis of thee" to "may it be" is intended to create a blessing for all those who call this land home.”
