A woke church in Illinois is encouraging its congregants to fast from "whiteness" for Lent.
For Lent this year, the First United Church of Oak Park in Illinois is doing something really special that would impress the woke crowd: fast from "whiteness." This Lenten season, the Illinois woke church pledged not to use any music or liturgy associated with white people and instead use musical scores and liturgies written by people of color and minorities.
"For Lent this year, First United is doing a mix of 'giving something up' and 'taking something on,'" the Illinois church wrote on its website, as per The Gateway Pundit. "In our worship services throughout Lent, we will not be using any music or liturgy written or composed by white people. Our music will be drawn from the African American spirituals tradition, from South African freedom songs, from Native American traditions, and many, many more."
"For Lent, it is our prayer that in our spiritual disciplines we may grow as Christians, united in the body of Christ with people of all ages, nations, races, and origins," the Illinois church said.
Fox News reported that the church in suburban Chicago had also erected a sign promoting the racially-themed Lenten fast, announcing that the church would host worship services "around the voices of Black people, indigenous people, and people of color."
According to Turning Point USA, the church is reportedly promoting reflections called "evotionals" that support the idea of "fasting from whiteness." The church website said that it is an "open and inclusive Christian Community" that practices "inclusion" by honoring people of all races, ethnicities, cultural identities, gender identities, sexual orientations, and abilities.
A newsletter shared by the Illinois church quoted Bruce Reyes-Chow's book, "In Defense of Kindness," in which the author argues that people's "call to civil discourse" should be "more about listening to the genuine struggles of our human sisters, brothers, siblings, neighbors, and strangers than about protecting our own spaces of security."
Meanwhile, a Pew Research Center survey released on March 15 showed that Black Catholics are more likely than their white or Hispanic counterparts to admit that opposing racism and sexism is essential to being a faithful Christian, the National Catholic Reporter revealed. The study is a follow up to Pew Research's February 2021 report titled "Faith Among Black Americans," which surveyed 8,660 Black adults, including 562 Black Catholics.
The survey revealed how the religious beliefs, practices and experiences of faithful Black Catholics in the U.S. differ from their Protestant counterparts and are also distinctive from other racial and ethnic groups in the Catholic Church. The study revealed that Black Catholics are more likely than their white counterparts to say that it is "essential" that sermons address political topics about racism and immigration.
The survey found that 40% of Black Catholics said they heard a discussion about race relations or racial inequality in church in the last 12 months before the survey. This is compared to 29% of Hispanic Catholics and 18% of white Catholics. Finally, about three-fourths of Black Catholics said opposing racism and sexism, and a firm belief in God are essential to being a Christian.
