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Chicago church ‘fasting from whiteness’ for Lent

April 6, 2022 | | Print Article

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(Video Credit: Turning Points USA)

The First United Church of Oak Park in Chicago went fully woke for Lent this year, announcing it will be “fasting from whiteness” and will not allow the singing of hymns that are written by white musicians but will instead draw on “African American spirituals tradition.”

The church asserted that it will do a combination of “giving something up” and “taking something on” for Lent by divisively abstaining from white composers in favor of minority ones.

“In our worship services throughout Lent, we will not be using any music or liturgy written or composed by white people. Our music will be drawn from the African American spirituals tradition, from South African freedom songs, from Native American traditions, and many, many more,” the church’s website states.

“For Lent, it is our prayer that in our spiritual disciplines we may grow as Christians, united in the body of Christ with people of all ages, nations, races, and origins,” the church added.

Turning Point USA reported on the church’s racial declaration, blasting the move as taking America “back to segregation times.”

The church put up an outdoor sign promoting the 40-day religious observance. Ironically, the church’s pastor is Rev. John Edgerton who is white and a radical leftist.

He is known for virtue-signaling and boasting about being arrested while confronting former Utah Senator Orrin Hatch in 2017 over the proposed repeal of former President Barack Obama’s Affordable Care Act. He posted a picture of himself at the time on Facebook being led away in handcuffs by police.

https://twitter.com/ilovedonrickles/status/1511536924141535233

“Thank you for your prayers. I’ve been released and everyone involved is safe. We confronted Senator Orrin Hatch earlier in the day, sharing personal stories of what a repeal of the Affordable Care Act would mean, and asking that he share his plan for replacing the Affordable Care Act,” he wrote at the time.

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“He ignored us in the hallway, pretending as if we weren’t there. He ignored a woman named Jamie as she asked him how her three children, now covered under the ACA, will be able to see a doctor,” the pastor added. “He tried to ignore us, and so we sat in front of his office and refused to leave. We were non-violent and loving and absolutely unashamed.”

This same church hypocritically claims that it is intent on “valuing people of all races, ethnicities, cultural identities, gender identities, sexual orientations, and abilities in every aspect of our congregational life.”

The fast was further promoted in the church’s March 29 Evotional newsletter, claiming the church will proceed “to honor our fast from whiteness this Lent by prioritizing the voice of Bruce Reyes-Chow” and by sharing a chapter of his book, In “Defense of Kindness.”

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“For many of us, being uncomfortable about public protests or what we perceive as aggressive expressions of frustration simply identifies our privilege and our ability to shield ourselves from the struggles that others are facing. May our call to civil discourse be more about listening to the genuine struggles of our human sisters, brothers, siblings, neighbors, and strangers than about protecting our own spaces of security. Most people do not engage in public protest or in expressing anger that may put risk on their life, work, or status. So when groups of people are pushed to their boiling point, the least helpful thing to do is to silence them,” his book contends, according to Turning Point USA.

Reyes-Chow is a leftist Presbyterian elder from California who enthusiastically supports Black Lives Matter and rails against white privilege.

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“While I understand the desire to be more compassionate and to have more thoughtful engagement around disagreements, we must be careful that such a desire does not turn into a modern-day manifestation of ‘civilizing’ those who do not fit into our understanding of normative behavior. Sometimes our norms oppress and marginalize others,” he remarked via the newsletter.

“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 but I can change what I listen to, whose voice I prioritize,” Rev. Lydia Mulkey, the congregation’s associate pastor of education, states in a video explaining the fast. “And so that is kind of the place for our worship services, through Lent, that we would fast for a time from prioritizing white voices.”

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38 thoughts on “Chicago church ‘fasting from whiteness’ for Lent”

  2. Hey BizPac, why, while I am typing comments, do I have to constantly fight off having the “Tommy’s Garage”, or whatever video is running in the body of the article, take over my computer screen?

  3. Were any of the “whites” who wrote the “banned” hymns slave owners or supporters of slavery? I would think none.

    BTW, how many of those “whites” who preach about “white privilege” are prepared to resign, to open their position up for a POC to fill, or forfeit all the “excess ill-gotten gains” they benefited from on account of their “white privilege”?

  4. “For Lent, it is our prayer that in our spiritual disciplines we may grow as Christians, united in the body of Christ with people of all ages, nations, races, and origins,” the church added…………and they are doing just the opposite. Sounds like the Pharisees. Say one thing for people to do and they do just the opposite.

  5. How can you be a Pastor and a Radical Leftest? Isn;t that an Oxymoron?! The Pastor at my church would have some choice words for this guy!

  6. How has this Uncle Ruckus of a Pastor NOT been asked to step down yet?! Someone should report him!! This is NOT a true Church!!

  7. I really really don’t think I can scrub the color off of my skin. Are people seriously this STUPID????????

  8. Did a voice from God tell you to do this?? Or was it a voice from the woke mob??

  9. This church of hatred is free to do whatever it wants. Some churches worship Satan; this must be one of those!

  11. Someone, please help me find my eyes. They rolled so hard and fast that they popped right out of my head. I think they’re still rolling!

  12. The First United Church of Oak Park in Chicago is NOT a religious institution but a racist cult. They have stepped over the line and should IMMEDIATELY have their tax-exempt status revoked.

  13. Stupid. This church Knows Nothing about GOD, JESUS or The BIBLE. They will pay come Judgment Day, if not sooner.

  14. Tax status? And how will they cope with the coffers when whites bail to another church? And anyone staying is a fool.

  15. Blatant racism and segregation on full display here. If they try to claim it is not, then let a white church put a sign out front that says “no blacks allowed during lent” and see what the reaction wold be. It is no different here. If they claim they will not read anything written by whites, then how do they have a service? The entire new testament of the bible was written by what these people would consider “white men”. So these people are not just racists, they are segregationist hypocrites as well. FJB

  19. Does this mean they eat seafood on Fridays?
    Pure stupidity. This is why I stopped attending organized religion churches. Using Jesus to justify their ignorance

    1. NOT ALL ORGANI9ZED RELIGION IS LIKE THIS!!! MY CHURCH IS NOT!!! WE ARE PROUD LUTHERANS WHO WELCOME EVERYBODY!! I DON;T KNOW WHAT I WOULD DO WITHOUT MY CHURCH! MY CHURCH IS GOOD!! MY ORGANIZED RELIGION IS GOOD!!

    1. Just one more effort at division.
      Perhaps they would be better served in “Fasting for Practice”, as they better be ready for the food shortages coming!
      By the way, I am from Chico, way back in the day when it was very conservative.

  23. They had me at Oak Park…
    Remember if you will.. in 1971 , Oak Park in it’s infinite wisdom decided on an Open Door Policy ,and did everything they could to invite Black Chicagoans into the Village with housing incentives, good schools, etc. It worked, and property values immediately went DOWN, the school system, as well as the park system went DOWN, and there was a MASS EXODUS ( white flight ) of blue collar , hard working white Americans of all nationalities from what was once a very nice place to raise a family. After all, it is only about 11 blocks East on Lake Street from this ” church’s ” location that the africans crossed Austin Blvd., and rioted , demanded , and burned things… Funny how THAT has not changed in all these years…
    How do I know all this ? I lived there , and as an 8th grader watched in horror as our school , Longfellow Elementary , was vandalized and graffitied , our park, Longfellow park, was taken over to the point that a white kid could NOT play basketball or baseball without being attacked by the blacks… YES , I was one of those attacked and beaten up. BUT , it wasn’t until our garage , with our car in it , was burned to the ground after one of these black on white attacks in the park , that my parents joined the exodus, and sold to get the hell out of little africa. So , I can see why those God fearing , Christians , would choose to ignore white music for lent… because the blacks did SO much for the community !
    Call me a racist if you must, but the TRUE racists are those ” God fearing, Christians ” that have decided that white music should be given up for lent..
    God help us all , as we are in dangerous times….

  24. The congregants are probably every bit as stupid as their leader. That is what they want

  25. The church put up an outdoor sign promoting the 40-day religious observance. Ironically, the church’s pastor is Rev. John Edgerton who is white and a radical leftist.
    He is known for virtue-signaling and boasting about being arrested while confronting former Utah Senator Orrin Hatch in 2017 over the proposed repeal of former President Barack Obama’s Affordable Care Act. He posted a picture of himself at the time on Facebook being led away in handcuffs by police.

    Does anyone really see what these leftist are really doing. They are creating hate and racism where there was none before.

    1. How has this guy not been asked to step down yet?! Isn;t a Radical Leftest Pastor an Oxymoron?! I tell you, my pastor would have some choice words for him!

  26. Blacks, disproportionately lead our society in all of the negative, harmful civil behavior. They continue to find others to blame.

  29. REVOKE their Tax Exempt Status ! If they want to play Politics they can do WITHOUT their status !

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