Frederick Douglass: Now More Than Ever!

I was delighted to sit down at Matins today and find that the Episcopal Church is remembering F
Frederick Douglass.  Then I was even more delighted when I went to the monastery for Eucharist and found that they have included him in their calendar.

It would be important to remember Douglass at any time.  His fight for freedom and dignity, his challenge to the churches that did not disavow slavery, inspires me - I hope inspires all of us - to stand against contemporary slavery and oppression.

Oh yes, slavery is alive and well.  It's thriving all over the world, including the United States.  We sometimes call it human trafficking now, but it's the same phenomenon.  Women, men, children either outright abducted, seduced, or misled into positions of helplessness, often under threat to themselves or those they love, locked in and sometimes chained; millions of people are enslaved today.  They work in so many of our booming industries, legal and illegal.  Labor sectors such as domestic service and migrant labor operate with virtually no legal protection, and slavery thrives there.  Our prisons have become mass slave plantations.  Life-long citizens and immigrants are all potential victims.

The Church of England has launched the Clewer Initiative to challenge and eradicate modern slavery.  I'm pleased to say that the Community of St. John Baptist in New Jersey has joined this initiative.  If you want to learn more, start here: https://www.theclewerinitiative.org.

In the U.S. many groups are engaged in this work.  Start with the Polaris Project:
https://polarisproject.org.

As the tide of racism and nationalism rises in the U.S. and around the world, the memory of those who have fought before becomes every more precious.

Almighty God, we bless your Name for the witness of Frederick Douglass, whose impassioned and reasonable speech moved the hearts of people to a deeper obedience to Christ: Strengthen us also to speak on behalf of those in captivity and tribulation, continuing in the way of Jesus Christ our Liberator; who with you and the Holy Spirit dwells in glory everlasting.  Amen.