Remembering Our Ancestors

Remembering Those Who

Came Before Us

Ancestors are the bedrock of so many Afro-centric communities. Sometimes we know our ancestors' names and call on them for strength and support. Sometimes we don't know their names and simply call out into the abyss of the past for inspiration. As we continue to reflect on Black History Month I offer this untitled poem by Rev. Tijuana Gray.

In school they were fed to us:

Tubman, Truth, Carver…

Little morsels from too long ago to be real—

Distant and far-removed

Tiny story capsules we swallowed and regurgitated on cue

Later, we learned there were more.

More names.

More details.

More connection to our world, to our lives.

We feasted.

These are our ancestors.

We are their legacy.

Black history lives in black present.

We can, because they did.

We do, because they were.

Because they are.

They are with us.

We are here.

Tijuana Gray is ordained with MCC and is pastor of Reconciliation MCC in Grand Rapids, MI. She is also the Network Team Lead for the North Central US Network.

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Jared Vazquez , Associate Director of International Diversity and Inclusion

[email protected]

Metropolitan Community Churches is celebrating 50 Years!

Founded in 1968, Metropolitan Community Churches (MCC) has been at the vanguard of civil and human rights movements by addressing issues of race, gender, sexual orientation, economics, climate change, aging, and global human rights. MCC was the first to perform same gender marriages and has been on the forefront of the struggle towards marriage equality in the USA and other countries worldwide. MCC recognizes a state of need around the world in the areas of human rights and justice, including the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer communities. As people of faith, MCC endeavors to build bridges that liberate and unite voices of sacred defiance. MCC leads from the margins and transforms.

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