Our nation has been in an extended period of mourning. Even in times of celebration and triumph, we are not far from the losses that our communities have undertaken. Lent is usually about voluntary self-denial, but the past year has denied us and deprived us without our consent. It almost seems superfluous to observe Lent when we are still wearing the ashes of mourning from last year. Yet I still hope…

We knew that this would happen. It was unlikely that 17 Republican Senators would join with Democrats to convict Trump during his second impeachment. But when the verdict came in on Saturday, February 13, 2021--just over a month after a violent insurrection at the Capitol in support of the former president--it was still infuriating.

History bears witness that white supremacy and Christianity in America are inextricably linked. White supremacy isn’t a fringe idea; it is the status quo. White evangelicals told on themselves because they chose to absolve their own guilt when the moment came to speak. Instead of defending the voiceless and the powerless, they sought to clear their own collective name.