This Sunday is one of my favorites on the Christian calendar.  It's called "Pentecost Sunday."  It's the day where Christians commemorate the move of God's Spirit to empower the followers of Jesus after his crucifixion.  I must confess that I've always loved Pentecost Sunday because it's a time where extra emphasis is placed on churches to get outside of its walls and do something for the holistic salvation of its community. I used to get frustrated sitting on the pews Sunday after Sunday hearing about an all powerful God and then walking out into the neighborhood after worship services to see the effects of a community that was oppressed by the powers of this world.  "Can't the church do something about this?," I'd often ask myself. This is one of the reasons why I love serving in The Black Church Food Security Network.  We are actually doing something about food apartheid.  We're doing something about a century of systematic oppression toward Black farmers.  We're doing something about the massive land-holdings and assets of churches that are sitting underutilized from Monday to Saturday. And the beautiful thing is that we're not doing it alone. We're doing it with so many of you! If you work alongside or support The Black Church Food Security Network, you should know that you are a part of something big and beautiful.  In our newsletters from month to month, we show the "the Pentecost power" of God at work in every day people all over the country.  Together, we are standing in our power to confront a system that keeps people hungry and build a new system that centers the needs of people and the planet too. May we all continue to experience Pentecost power in our time as we work together through the ministry of The Black Church Food Security Network. Interested in subscribing to our newsletter?  Visit www.BlackChurchFoodSecurity.net

On Pentecost Sunday 2020, Rev. Dr. Heber Brown, III preached a sermon entitled, "Power To The People."  With demonstrations and fires from protests still burning in cities around the country in response to the recent murders of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd and countless others by police and white racists, this sermon attempts to show how this moment is connected to the Bible and Black History.  It points an important way forward for those concerned about a spiritual and socio-political pathway to Black liberation. Below you will find links that relate to what Pastor Brown references in this sermon along with supplemental material.  References to public policy & political history in this sermon 1994 Crime Bill and check here and here too   Black Codes   Vetoing funding for MD HBCU's   Law Enforcement Officers Bill of Rights Gentrification

This episode is also available as a blog post: https://heberbrownblogs.wordpress.com/2021/07/07/shacarri-richardson-is-still-that-girl-and-why-i-support-the-legalization-of-marijuana/

Curious about how to organize within the context of Black Churches?  Do you ever watch how some Black churches operated during the Civil Rights Movement and wonder how you can help replicate that today?  In this episode, community organizer and pastor, Rev. Dr. Heber Brown, III shares tips on how to make it happen beginning with a "first commandment" of Black Church organizing: You have to go to church! Check it out! This episode is also available as a blog post: https://heberbrownblogs.wordpress.com/2021/06/01/example-post-3/