When it comes to fasting for Lent, people give up social media, certain foods, and habits, but it appears a Chicago area church that is led by a white pastor announced that it is “fasting from whiteness.”
First United Church of Oak Park notified church members in March that they would fast from whiteness, and will do so by not performing songs or hymns written or composed by white people.
“In this fast from whiteness, of course, I cannot change the color of my skin or the way that allows me to move through the world,” a rep of the church told the congregation in part. “But I can change what I listen to [and] whose voice I prioritize, so that is kind of the plan for our worship services through Lent…that we would fast from a time of prioritizing white voices, and that we would use the music and poetry of Black, Indigenous, and people of color and see what the spirit might do among us.”
The church also has a sign in the yard that reads, “Fasting from Whiteness.”
After news broke that the church was fasting from whiteness, First United Church of Oak Park also released a statement on Thursday that read in part, “our intent was to lay aside our usual frames of reference and open ourselves to hearing the Gospel message through the voices of Black People, Indigenous People, and People of Color.”
The press release also stated that “worship services in Lent have been diverse and beautiful.”
Roomies, what y’all think?
