Church Hosts Community Prayer Vigil for Racial Justice Juneteenth Event

A small group gathered to commemorate Juneteenth and mourn the death of George Floyd in a Community Prayer Vigil for Racial Justice at Emmaus Road Lutheran Church in Middletown Township’s Levittown section Friday evening, with multiple service leaders drawing a crowd mostly comprised of longtime churchgoers.

“We‘ve gone so long with our black and brown brothers and sisters suffering from systemic racism and injustice,” said Lisa Jester, a reverend at the church. “Now is the time we need to stand up and advocate for them and work for justice for all people.”

The event, about 30 minutes long in total, was held outside amidst a thunderstorm, though attendees were able to gather under a tree for shelter from the rain, which was brief.

Eight minutes and 46 seconds of silent meditation – meant to symbolize the time white police officer Derek Chauvin knelt on the neck of Floyd in Minneapolis last month – were observed to commemorate his death. Attendees prayed the Lord’s Prayer.

“While we’ve changed some laws, collectively and individually we haven’t done the work we need to ensure everyone is treated with dignity and respect,” Jester said. “It’s about systemic racism across society.”

This includes racism in the community itself, Jester added, noting the history of Levittown’s foundation as an explicitly whites-only neighborhood.

A selection of bible readings, including Colossians 3:1-17, dealing with compassion and Genesis 1, covering the classical Christian account of the creation of the universe by God, were used to frame the vigil, alongside readings from Black authors and a violin act titled Take my Hand, Precious Lord.

“I‘m supporting the church and trying to think about the discrepancies and lies for many, many years, and how we can get to know people better, and how we can treat people equally,” said Dianne Dampton, a Levittown resident and retired teacher attending the event. “I think I had a rather sheltered life, not having problems like some minorities do.”

The vigil took place at a time when more people than ever have chosen to honor Juneteenth, including street activists as well as large multinational corporations such as Best Buy, Google, and General Motors. Juneteenth is a holiday to marks the emancipation of slaves. The date marks the military announcing orders in Texas in 1865 that salves in Texas were free.

“Honestly, I hadn’t heard of Juneteenth before this,” said Lori Swank, another Levittown resident. “I think it’s in a broader sense trying to make sure everyone is treated equally and fairly. I‘m a member of this congregation and we do a lot of work trying to reach out to other groups.”

“I have been following the news, and it’s very shocking,” said Ammanuel Mehreteab, a resident of Lower Makefield attending to show solidarity. “Everyone knew [police violence against people of color] was going on behind the scenes, but we haven’t seen it like we’ve been seeing it now … I recognize freedom on paper occurred many years ago, but the lack of freedom and oppression still continues, as we have seen in the recent deaths.”

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