Chains
by Elouise
Chains of fearful submission
Rattle through the nighttime
Terrorizing citizens caught
In the act of looking the other way
This simple act caught on screen and
Controlled by centuries of false freedom
Binds tongues and stokes the proud
In these days of wine and funerals
Whiteness permeates communal air
Contaminating the atmosphere
Dripping with the stench of refuse
From centuries of proud fear
Sunday church comes just in time
For another needle of painkiller
Soothing hard hearts and closed minds
Ready for another week of denial
This is my personal statement, based on a lifetime of church service and membership. Both conservative and not so conservative.
Ever since this nation’s founding, independent and denominational white churches in the USA have enabled the war against full citizenship for people of color, American Indians, and many immigrants. How did churches do this? Chiefly by staying within so-called safe “non-political’ bounds, and practicing forms of charity that required sacrifice without causing a political ruckus.
Denial has a way of becoming deadly. It’s a downward slope leading to disaster. Many white churches in the USA are in denial. Some may talk about change. Others who care deeply about these things read books and get involved personally.
Rarely, however, is there difficult institutional change. The kind that’s visible, that stirs up uncomfortable controversy and leads to even more difficult change. Yet that’s what it means to follow Jesus the Jew on his way to death. He was crucified (hung on a cross/tree) for living the Good News for All and telling it like it is. Not with rancor, yet without mincing words or minimizing the cost to him or to his followers.
I’m praying for visible changes of heart and habits of life. We’re in this for the long haul, no matter how the upcoming election plays out.
Thanks for visiting, and for doing what you can where you are. As for me, I’m reading James Cones’ book, The Cross and the Lynching Tree.
Elouise♥
© Elouise Renich Fraser, 2 October 2020
Book cover image from amazon.com
Telling the Truth 
I just finished the book last night and started a post about it today that I hope to finish tomorrow.
Next on my list is Jesus and the Disinherited.
Thank you for speaking out.
Grace and peace to you…
dw
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You’re more than welcome, dw. Thanks for the heads up about a post on The Cross and The Lynching Tree. I look forward to seeing what you have to say.
Elouise
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Thank you Elouise. I’m starting to think it’s going to take more than one post…too much to cover in one shot.
As I should have expected, I guess…
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I know the feeling! Besides, it’s important. 🙏🏻
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Oh Elouise, from where I am sitting I don’t see much to hope for. Your last verse says a lot more than many of us will ever admit.
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Hi, John. I’m grateful hope isn’t measured by what we see. Not that this makes it any better or easier. I grateful for your last line. It’s a tough reality to face, much less begin talking about as a challenge we need to engage head-on.
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How’s the book? I wanted to read something this month.
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It’s riveting! And hard to take in big pieces. Well worth the effort if we intend to face up to the past here in the USA. I hope you’ll give it a try. The book was highly recommended by one of my followers. I ordered the Kindle version.
Another book I’ve finished recently is Howard Thurman’s Jesus and the Disinherited. It’s written to and for black and brown people, not for white people. He talks about patterns of behavior that need to be examined if you (as a black or brown person) want to follow Jesus. No matter what white people say or do.
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