December 21

Today is the winter solstice, the longest night of the year. 

Today is a probable date for the birthday, in 1603, of Roger Williams, Christian minister and influential figure in early New England. He was born in London and came to America in the second wave of Puritan colonizers who opposed the Church of England. He was angered at the colonists’ dealings with the Narragansett people and other Native Americans that involved land acquisition without purchase. His condemnation of the King and government for their illegal seizure of land eventually led to his exile from the Massachusetts Bay colony. He founded the first Baptist Church in the Americas in Rhode Island. His writings on the importance of the separation of church and state and his emphasis on freedom of conscience have continued to inform progressive American Christianity and interpretations of the Bill of Rights. He was one of the first to argue that the adoption of Christianity by the Emperor Constantine was a tragedy for the faith and a victory for the forces of oppression.  

Today is also the birthday, in 1872, of Lorenzo Perosi, Roman Catholic priest and a prolific composer of sacred music. 

Reflection: 

Roger Williams wrote: 

From his writing, Thomas Jefferson took the metaphor of a “Wall of separation between church and state.” This is Roger Williams’ original expression: 

Though Roger Williams opposed chattel slavery and was an advocate for fair treatment for indigenous people, and although on more than one occasion offered himself as a hostage for safe return of Narragansett leaders, he nonetheless followed other colonists in enslaving captured indigenous people during war. 

Prayer: Holy Spirit, we recognize a counterfeit church, distinct from the one you birthed, constructed by the powerful to commandeer the gospel and increase oppression. Give us discernment to distinguish between your Good News of liberation and the fake news of White Christian Nationalism. Amen.