“MAY WE FOREVER STAND”:
MASSACHUSETTS COMMEMORATES 400 YEARS of BLACK RESILIENCY
The year 2019 marks 400 years since the first enslaved Africans set foot in Jamestown, Virginia. Since then, Black communities have demonstrated remarkable resiliency in the face of cruelty, terror, and systematic oppression. African Americans have not only created pathways to survive but, in many instances, to thrive. Through it all, the Black Church has endured as a beacon of hope and testimony to resurrection. On September 20, 2019, people of faith will gather to honor ancestors, commemorate 400 years of resiliency, and pray for an end to systemic and racial injustice. Learn more in this video with Rev. Laura Everett and Rev. Kenneth Young.
DOWNLOADS
Event Flyer
“Litany of Thanksgiving for Black Resiliency in Massachusetts”
Prayer for Repentance
Media Advance
Worship Service Program Booklet
Preaching Black Resiliency:
A Master Class with Rev. Dr. Leslie Callahan 
Space is limited. Click here to purchase tickets.
Friday September 20, 2019 at 12pm
People’s Baptist Church
134 Camden Street, Boston, MA 02118
Preachers are invited to attend this homiletic master class on preaching black resiliency. Rev. Dr. Leslie Callahan serves at the first female pastor of St. Paul’s Baptist Church in Philadelphia, with degrees from Harvard, Union Theological Seminary and Princeton University. Lunch will be served.
“May We Forever Stand”:
Worship with Bishop Claude Alexander preaching
Friday September 20, 2019 at 7:30pm
Greater Framingham Community Church
44 Franklin St, Framingham, MA 01702
All are invited to attend this ecumenical worship service for the praise of God and the celebration of the Black Church. Bishop Claude Alexander has served as the Senior Pastor of The Park Church in Charlotte, North Carolina for the past 27 years, with degrees from Morehouse College, Pittsburgh Theological Seminary and Gordon Conwell Theological School.
Become a Sponsor
For this auspicious occasion, we are inviting partner institutions, local churches, civic leaders, committed businesses and devoted individuals to support and sustain this event. Massachusetts has a complex and varied history on the path to liberation for all. Far too often, the story of abolition and justice has centered the stories of white leadership. For this occasion, we are actively excavating and reclaiming stories of black resiliency in partnership with local black historic sites and museums.
Funds raised through sponsorship will underwrite the cost of the commemoration, continued ecumenical ministry among black Christians through the Massachusetts Council of Churches, and financial support of local black historic sites across Massachusetts. Together, we believe we can tell a different story, a more comprehensive and accurate story of the long road to liberation for all.
You are invited to share in supporting “May We Forever Stand: Massachusetts Commemorates 400 Years of Black Resiliency” by completing the Sponsor Form and returning it to Rev. Kenneth Young by August 30, 2019.
We rejoice that you and so many organizations throughout the Commonwealth are interested in marking this occasion and signaling your support. We pray this sponsorship opportunity and our collective gathering on September 20 will be a public witness of the world we long for. Thank you for your support of “May We Forever Stand.”
