Lent 2021 - Lift Every Voice
A Conversation about Race and Reconciliation

We are very excited about the 2021 Lenten Wednesday series centered around conversations regarding race and reconciliation. This past January we invited 6 young adults of color (all recent graduates of Roseville Area High School) to come together and have roundtable discussions about their experiences of race, what reconciling work looks like, as well as how their faith informs them. What followed was honest, challenging and often heartbreaking conversation about their experiences within the community. 

We would love to have you consider joining us for discussions about these roundtable conversations every Monday during Lent at 7:00 pm (March 1, 8, 15, 22, 29). Click here to sign up.

Pastor Lauren was very moved by their discussions, and had the opportunity to meet with the group of 6 young adults for an entire day. Some of these young adults also chose to record spoken word pieces that they had crafted. A sample is posted below. These spoken word pieces will give you just a glimpse of the maturity these young adults have, as well as the challenges they face. These pieces will be shared in Sunday worship throughout the season of Lent. 

We certainly hope you will join us as these young adult voices are lifted up! You won’t want to miss out on the conversation that is born out of their experiences!

Every Monday evening we will gather with 1 or 2 of these young adults as “host”. They will answer questions, etc, for 15 minutes and then we will break out for 45 minutes of guided small group conversation (all on zoom). All participants will receive a small group hand out to help facilitate discussion. 

Click here to sign up!

Dates for small group discussions - Monday’s at 7:00 p.m. over zoom

• Monday, March 1
• Monday, March 8
• Monday, March 15
• Monday, March 22
• Monday, March 29

Monday Discussion Follows Previous Wednesday Service

Each Monday evening during Lent we will meet to discuss and reflect the previous Wednesday Lenten service and discussion.

7:00 pm

A large group zoom meeting to recap the previous Wednesday’s conversation and hear from one of our young adult speakers. 

7:15-8:00 pm

We will break into small group zoom discussions centering on the focus of our Wednesday Lenten worship

Did You know?

Lift Every Voice and Sing – often called “The Black National Anthem” – was written as a poem by NAACP leader James Weldon Johnson (1871-1938) and then set to music by his brother John Rosamond Johnson (1873-1954) in 1899. It was first performed in public in the Johnsons’ hometown of Jacksonville, Florida as part of a celebration of Lincoln’s Birthday on February 12, 1900 by a choir of 500 schoolchildren at the segregated Stanton School, where James Weldon Johnson was principal.

Lift Every Voice and Sing

Lyrics:

Lift ev’ry voice and sing,
‘Til earth and heaven ring,
Ring with the harmonies of Liberty;
Let our rejoicing rise
High as the list’ning skies,
Let it resound loud as the rolling sea.

Sing a song full of the faith that the dark past has taught us,
Sing a song full of the hope that the present has brought us;
Facing the rising sun of our new day begun,
Let us march on ’til victory is won.

Stony the road we trod,
Bitter the chastening rod,
Felt in the days when hope unborn had died;
Yet with a steady beat,
Have not our weary feet
Come to the place for which our fathers sighed?

We have come over a way that with tears has been watered,
We have come, treading our path through the blood of the slaughtered,
Out from the gloomy past,
‘Til now we stand at last
Where the white gleam of our bright star is cast.

God of our weary years,
God of our silent tears,
Thou who has brought us thus far on the way;
Thou who has by Thy might
Led us into the light,
Keep us forever in the path, we pray.

Lest our feet stray from the places, our God, where we met Thee,
Lest, our hearts drunk with the wine of the world, we forget Thee;
Shadowed beneath Thy hand,
May we forever stand,
True to our God,
True to our native land.