liberation theology'
http://www.annarbor.com/faith/amistad-community-church/
Jun 24, 2010
A cross between Malcolm X's black power movement and the theology
behind Martin Luther King Jr.'s speeches during the civil rights
movement - that's how the founder described the faith practiced by
members of Ann Arbor's Amistad Community United Church of Christ.
Formed in 1991, Amistad Community Church is a part of the United
Church of Christ, a protestant Christian denomination.
The 20-member congregation and Pastor Dominique Chantell Atchison
practice black liberation theology. Services are held every Sunday at
11 a.m. in a space at 2730 Carpenter Road.
"Black liberation theology or black theology is saying that God is a
God of the oppressed. God is a God who wants people to not be
oppressed and stands on the side of the oppressed," Atchison said.
"It is a way to read the bible".
The church is formed around two ideas: One is that Jesus was
physically and culturally black due to the location of his birth,
lowly status and association with the oppressed. Second, since
"African Americans have always been among the oppressed" Jesus would
associate with the oppressed if he were in our cultural context,
Atchison said.
Black liberation theology was developed by James Cone. During the
2008 National Theological Conference at Trinity Institute, Cone
explained that he was inspired to reinterpret his childhood faith
because he wanted it to address his race.
"The blackness in that phrase comes from Malcolm X, the theology in
it comes from Martin King. So I bring Martin and Malcolm together,
the civil rights movement and the black power movement together, in
order to develop a black theology of liberation," Cone said.
Pastor Atchison was born in New York and raised in a Baptist church
that practiced black liberation theology. She recalls being taught
that "God was not separate from what some might consider politics, or
racial politics, that God was on the side of those who were oppressed."
However, she moved away from the Baptist church because it lacked a
progressive stance regarding sexual orientation and gender. Atchison
did not want a tolerant church but rather one that is progressive and
placed importance on its ministry to women and people of the black
liberation community. Atchison joined Amistad Community Church in
January. She chose it because it was racially diverse and politically
progressive.
Every Sunday, the worship service at Amistad Community Church begins
with singing "Siya Hamba," a traditional West African song sung in
Swahili. Following the processional, there is praise, worship and the
singing of "Dame La Mano" in Spanish. Amistad tries to sing in
Swahili, Spanish and English at every service. The congregation is
then given an opportunity to partake in anointing, "an individualized
prayer and blessing," said Atchison. Communion is offered on first
Sunday of every month.
Community outreach at Amistad is focused on a book and film club
called Sankofa that was started by the founder of Amistad, Herbert
Lowe. Its members discuss books and films about African American
history through the perspective of black liberation theology. The
club meets at Amistad on Tuesday nights at 6 p.m.
The name Amistad Community Church was chosen to commemorate La
Amistad, a 19th century slave ship on which the slaves revolted and
overtook the ship. The men responsible for enslaving the passengers
were eventually prosecuted for illegal importation of slaves.
Atchison explained that "the United Church of Christ often celebrates
La Amistad as part of their history of social justice and because we
celebrate African history and the afro-centricity of Jesus I think it
was an appropriate name to combine African American history with the
United Church of Christ. […] In the spirit of La Amistad we want to
do justice and love and mercy in Washtenaw County and the world. It
is a part of our understanding of who we are."
--
Katherine Axelsen is a Senior at the University of Michigan double
majoring in English and Comparative Religion. She covers U-M campus,
Faith and neighborhood stories for AnnArbor.com. For further
questions, email her at kaxe@umich.edu.
--
Amistad Community United Church
Facts at a glance:
Location: 2730 Carpenter Road
Head pastor: Pastor Dominique Chantell Atchison
Congregation size: 20
Faith description: Practices black liberation theology
About the church: According to its website, Amistad "is an
intentionally multiracial, multicultural and Open and Affirming
church that believes in and serves God through Christ."
On the web: http://amistadannarbor.org/web/Home.html
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