Rev. Robert Turner, pastor of the Vernon AME Church, spoke briefly at a luncheon I attended that was sponsored by the Oklahoma Baptist Convention and hosted at Tulsa’s First Baptist Church on April 1. The Vernon AME Church is the only structure to partially survive the Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921. The church basement became a place of shelter and refuge from the fires and destruction of May 31 and June 1. The basement held strong, and still holds strong today. Rev. Turner told of an unusual incident that had just occurred on the previous Friday, March 26. While some workmen were renovating a basement bathroom, they accidentally broke through an historic wall. They were startled and confused by the smell that filled the bathroom. Rev. Turner was called to inspect. The strong odor was the smell of smoke and ashes that still lingers in the soil buried for 100 hundred years. 

There are approximately 70 days until the centennial anniversary becomes the focus of the nation. It was reported that hotel rooms for the week are being reserved quickly. Bus tours and pilgrimages are anticipated. Much has been planned for each week from this weekend forward. Phil Armstrong, project manager for the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre Centennial Commission, spoke of the new museum, Greenwood Rising. On Sunday, May 30, churches are asked to stand in unity with the spirit of reconciliation and renewal. 

Following the luncheon, we were invited to the Tulsa Race Massacre Prayer Room designed by the people at First Baptist Church. The stated purpose of the Prayer Room is to explore the events in 1921 and to “prayerfully oppose the sin of racism in our world, in our churches and in our heart.” The Prayer Room is open Monday – Friday, 8:30 to 5:00, without cost. It is well worth the time. Parking is free in the lot at 5th and Detroit by parking in the spaces marked for “FBC.” 

The lingering smell of racial sin is all around us. The fires of hatred still burn in the hearts of so many. The smoke of prejudice and pride clouds our eyes with tears and pain. We are seeing it played out before us every day. Our only hope is in Jesus, who has given to us the ministry of reconciliation. Read 2 Corinthians 5:12-20.

Keep healthy. Pray mightily. Enjoy your life today. Be reconciled.  And let’s experience the love and power of God together again.

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(I wrote the following article for the Facebook site, Center for Congregational Ethics and the daily lectionary reading for April 8, 2021, based on Daniel 1.)

What if compassion were like a contagious disease that spread through contact with others?  What if, for instance, a police officer contracted compassion from his superior, and then spread it to the others they encountered that day? What difference might it make in a life or two or four?

How would the story of Daniel, in chapter 1, be different without the compassion of the palace master Ashpenaz? Four of Ashpenaz’ charges had been force-marched from their homeland hundreds of miles to be immersed in a foreign culture with strangers and stripped of their names. These four young people were bonded by their language, religious faith, and the agonies of their homesickness. They were valued for their abilities, yet they were deemed slaves by the callous and cruel.

According to verses 9 and 10 (NRSV), Ashpenaz was inspired to show favor and compassion to Daniel, but even so, denied the dietary request. Maybe Ashpenaz winked when he publicly said what he had to say. It was the under-guard appointed to oversee the four who demonstrated contagious compassion by allowing the ten-day faith and food test. Compassion brings out the best in ourselves and in others. 

Like Daniel and his friends, thousands upon thousands of heartsick and desperate people in 2021 are being forced to move from their homes into migrant and refugee camps, detention centers, and prisons each day. What if compassion were as contagious as the callousness that so easily besets us? I propose a ten-day faith and compassion test. Spread compassion to the stranger, to the neighbor and to yourself, inspired by the gift of God within you. 

Darryl DeBorde is pastor of the Braden Park Baptist Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

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The only way to arrive at Easter is through the Cross. When the people of our church were dreaming of a new and grand sanctuary in 1949, they asked the architect to include a cross. The conceptual drawing for the church looks very much like our present sanctuary. The drawing shows the angled windows, multiple doors on Fifth Street for more accessibility and the high barreled roof that we have today. The cross, on the other hand, was drawn on top of a large free-standing tower located to the west of the main entrance. It was thought a traditional steeple would not be fitting for the shape of the church.

The pictured tower with the cross stood over six stories high so it would be above the sanctuary roof line. Because the tower did not prove practical, a large flagpole was erected in its place. As an alternative to the steeple, a cross was included on the face of the building. It is a large cross. It is my observation that most people either do not ever see the cross on the building, or it has become so familiar that people have forgotten about it. The cross has become invisible. The Good Shepherd window is the feature most will associate with our building, not the large cross. Recently, on our Facebook services, we have been featuring a picture of the church where the cross can be seen reflecting the sunlight.

The frosted glass cross stands 10 feet tall and has a span of 6 feet. It is located above the main entrance to the building. It is set in a large frame of glass tiles. Metaphorically, God’s people pass beneath the cross each time we gather to worship and serve. The only way anyone arrives at Easter is through the Cross. Jesus had to die for our sins and conquer death itself for us to celebrate Easter, or Resurrection Day. The Cross of Christ was the Altar of Sacrifice for our redemption, our forgiveness, and our salvation. Because of the cross and empty tomb, we are an Easter people, living transformed lives. When the cross becomes invisible, we lose sight of Easter’s meaning, the purpose of the church and the victory of the Christian life.

Keep healthy. Pray mightily. Enjoy your life today. Look to the Cross and see Easter. And let’s experience the love and power of God together.

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Do you miss hearing church announcements? Sometimes I do. When Dorothy and I were members of the University Baptist Church in Ft. Worth, church announcement time was rotated through the ministerial staff. These were the only regular times some of the leaders would be seen by the entire congregation. One particularly good-natured staff member was the youth and college minister. On the Sunday evening of his departure to become a campus minister, he was asked to give the announcements one last time. Just as he was about to step up to the pulpit, someone handed him a note, which he read, “To owner of a car with the license plate number xxxx, your lights are on.” After he made that announcement, it was revealed to him that the staff had been passing a “car lights are on” note to him every time he gave the Sunday evening announcements. After a moment of recognition, his laughter and ours felt fitting.

Here are some church announcements you may have missed this week:

The weekly Facebook will continue in a different format. With the start of in-person worship on Easter, I have asked Kevin Avery to lead a weekly Bible study on Sunday mornings, sort of a Facebook version of Sunday School. He will begin with his forthcoming new book, Tender Creation. There will be added a new weekly feature which will seek to provide glimpses from our in-person service of the previous Sunday. This is a work in progress.

Church and Community Connections. Kevin has also been asked to help with the telephone calls to offer encouragement, prayer and conversation with friends and neighbors of the church. He will be focused on our local area to help build or rebuild relationships. If there is someone you would like for him to connect with, call him at (539) 766-0787. Add his number to your phone contacts so that you will know it is him if he calls. He will not ask about your car’s warranty.

Eastside Meals on Wheels. Tulsa Meals on Wheels is testing a new way for us to go back to delivering meals to our homebound neighbors. Our Eastside Meals on Wheels ministry is exploring a way for us to modify our rotating churches and volunteers to adapt to the new guidelines. This could begin for us by early summer.

Keep healthy. Pray mightily. Enjoy your life today. Check your car lights. And let’s experience the love and power of God together.

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