April 1, 2004

The Sacred World of Black Folks

"God is calling forth a community of believers who long for the wisdom of African-American spirituality. This spirituality is "hewn from the rock" of African values, gifts, and disciplines. This community is covenantal in nature and intentional in the practice of worship, study, prayer, reflection and service. We believe that this spirituality provides a threshold into wider Christian traditions. We invite you to come with us on this journey and explore the sacred world of the people who have traveled this road to know God."

The opportunities to give and receive gifts from one another should be accompanied by feelings of joy, gratitude, and appreciation. But often giving and receiving gifts is difficult in our culture. The task is burdened with extrinsic cultural and economic realities that can diminish or elevate the entire act.

To give a gift in African culture is to bestow upon the recipient a token of intrinsic value. For example, in many African cultures, the giving of an egg is to bestow upon another the hope for health and a good life. By giving this small gift, the giver believes the gift has value for them and the giver believes the gift will add value to the recipient's life. The receiving of a gift has as much value as the giving.

African Americans have an opportunity to offer a unique gift to this culture. It is the unique gift of spirituality. We will not allow others to diminish the greatness of our gift because we are people of color. We believe that America is searching for God. We believe the gift of our spirituality will enhance that universal search to know God and draw closer to one another.  This distinctive spirituality will add value and meaning to the lives of others.

African-American spirituality is rooted in Africa, slave religion and the slave church. In our time, the traditional Black church in America is the foundational expression of this spirituality. The traditional Black church is not African or European. It is a third entity hewn from the rock of suffering, genocide, and a resolute spirit that proclaims "God is." Our task is to understand, reclaim, and define this spirituality for the contemporary Black church and community and the general church.
 
It is common practice throughout church history to describe the spiritual life within the context of a particular historical period, a single religious person, theological traditions, as well as culturally, ethnically, or racially. While the essence of spirituality is to encounter the Divine, there are particularities in that search. African-American spirituality is one such particularity.

African-American or Black spirituality is a distinctive and vital spirituality forged in the crucible of the lives of Black folks and Black suffering and racism.  The common spirit of Black folks is that God has the last word; it is an attitude that sees all of life as an encounter with a grace-filled, compassionate and forgiving God. Spiritual formation the Black church takes place when we experience and hold up the worshiping community, our sacred world, our experience and our reality. Spiritual formation in the African-American church takes place when we are enabled to go beyond our human limitations and create a sacred space and climate for Black people and others to encounter God and make sense out of life and existence. 

The African-American church understands that we live in God's universe. The center of this universe is the heart of God with its natural healing force and divine power.  As we pray for ourselves, one another and the human condition, we find a corporate and personal balance in our life and ministry.  This balance is maintained through acts of intercession and encouragement, worship and praise, fellowship and community, and healthy maintenance of the mind, body, and spirit. 

Finding this balance is the call to nurture and care for the souls of Black folks.  This, in a word, is African-American spirituality.  It is rooted in Africa and the African-American church, informed the nature and practice of Black theology, and the historical function and role of African values and spirituality.  These form the sacred world of Black folks and the Black church.  This sacred world is a womb where our particular values, disciplines, gifts, and ministry are kept and nurtured as means of grace.
  
Sankofa News is a periodic newsletter from the office of African-American Spiritual Formation. The newsletter hopes to inform readers about the principles and ideas of African-American spirituality and encourage us in the African-American community and beyond to engage in personal and corporate practices that lead to a deeper relationship with God and one another.