On September 7th, members and guests of the Community UCC choir performed the National Anthem at the Durham Bull’s game. When the mics went live and the signal was given, a beautiful and joyful sound was heard throughout the ballpark. The choir was celebrated by a thunderous applause and loud cheers. It was a proud moment and awesome representation of church community.
With CUCC being a “Just Peace” church, one can rightly ask why sing our national anthem while others take a knee at the rendering of it. As an African American, I agree with what the message of these protests says. Police brutality must come to an end. However, in my minds eye I see the flag and what it stands for beyond our anthem; this is even with its references to enslavement. The flag does stand for the heavenly goals of freedom and equality for all. I take heart in the fact that this goal is being more fully realized with the removal of the Robert E. Lee statue in Richmond Virginia and the pending renaming of military basis such as Fort Bragg. Yours truly also believes that there is a spiritual connection of our stars and stripes as Jesus represents the political freedoms we have and strive towards.
Perhaps our choir, then, sounded out notes of what our country can be. Freedom and justice for all is an on going process. It could be that the CUCC choir bent the long arc of the moral universe slightly more to this end.
Sincerely,
Robert Parrish
For questions related to the event contact Robert Parrish at robertcparrish7@gmail.com.