Chicago Church Is ‘Fasting From Whiteness’ for Lent by Banning All Hymns by Caucasian Musicians

A Chicago church has announced it will be ‘fasting from whiteness’ for Lent by abstaining from performing any hymns composed or written by Caucasian musicians.

The First United Church of Oak Park announced that for 2022 the church would do a mix of ‘giving something up’ and ‘taking something on’ for Lent by not using music written or composed by white people but instead focus on music from other cultures.

‘In our worship services throughout Lent, we will not be using any music or liturgy written or composed by white people. Our music will be drawn from the African American spirituals tradition, from South African freedom songs, from Native American traditions, and many, many more,’ the church’s website said.

‘For Lent, it is our prayer that in our spiritual disciplines we may grow as Christians, united in the body of Christ with people of all ages, nations, races, and origins.’

Turning Point USA captured footage of the sign, with the conservative website blasting the stunt for moving America ‘back to segregation times.’

First United has even erected an outdoor sign to promote their choice for the 40-day religious observance despite the fact that the church’s lead pastor, Rev. John Edgerton himself white.

Edgerton has form for woke virtue-signaling, and bragged about being arrested for confronting former Utah Senator Orrin Hatch in 2017 about a proposed repeal of the Affordable Care Act.

Sharing a photo of himself being led away by a cop on Facebook, he wrote: ‘Thank you for your prayers. I’ve been released and everyone involved is safe. We confronted Senator Orrin Hatch earlier in the day, sharing personal stories of what a repeal of the Affordable Care Act would mean, and asking that he share his plan for replacing the Affordable Care Act.

‘He ignored us in the hallway, pretending as if we weren’t there. He ignored a woman named Jamie as she asked him how her three children, now covered under the ACA, will be able to see a doctor.

‘He tried to ignore us, and so we sat in front of his office and refused to leave. We were non-violent and loving and absolutely unashamed.’

The fast comes from the same church which claims it ‘valuing people of all races, ethnicities, cultural identities, gender identities, sexual orientations, and abilities in every aspect of our congregational life.’

In a March 29 Evotional newsletter the church continued ‘to honor our fast from whiteness this Lent by prioritizing the voice of Bruce Reyes-Chow’ by sharing a chapter of his book, In ‘Defense of Kindness’.

Reyes-Chow is a woke Presbyterian elder from California whose missive in the Evotional took aim at people left ‘uncomfortable’ by disruptive BLM protests.

The excerpt from Reyes-Chow’s book says that people opposed to violent protests should examine their privilege and not try to silence people expressing anger.

‘While I understand the desire to be more compassionate and to have more thoughtful engagement around disagreements, we must be careful that such a desire does not turn into a modern-day manifestation of “civilizing” those who do not fit into our understanding of normative behavior. Sometimes our norms oppress and marginalize others,’ the reflection or evotional said.

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