Alka's Angle

I confess that I don’t know a lot about the his(her)story of Black people in this country, so this year I am reading as many articles as I can, that tell these stories (not as in fiction, but as their life experience).

February is observed as Black History Month. Carter G. Woodson of the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History (ASALH), created Negro History Week in February 1926, and Congress passed “National Black History Month” into law in 1986, to encourage all people to understand the black experience and their struggle for freedom. 

If you live in Lakeview or have come to our building lately, you probably know of the new place that recently opened across the street from us, on the southwest corner of Broadway and Buckingham. I have to say, when Epic Kitchens was opening, I did not know what to make of it. The concept fascinated Abe and I so we ordered food from there and we were pretty impressed.

I attended a ‘De-escalation Training’ this week through ONE Northside, offered by Hollaback, a global movement working towards ending harassment in any form it presents itself (one more way we can live out our baptismal vow to resist injustice), and training folk around the globe to feel empowered to intervene in a way that does not put themselves at risk.

This Sunday in church we will celebrate the “Baptism of Jesus” and will renew our own baptismal vows -- one of which is to resist evil and injustice in whatever forms they may present themselves. I invite you to think of that vow this week as we prepare our hearts to recommit to it on Sunday during worship. What does that mean for you as a person and for us as a collective? The opportunities are endless, so we will really need to find what really tugs at your heart. If it is communal, please do share with me.