An Illinois church calling for a fast from “whiteness” for Lent has garnered so much attention, primarily negative, that its website has crashed.
First United Church of Oak Park announced its “Fasting from Whiteness” program, lasting through April 14, focusing its worship on “the voices of black people, indigenous people, and people of color.”
The Rev. John Edgerton said the fact that the church is not used to national media coverage is “perhaps the understatement of the year.” Edgerton told the Religion News Service that the coverage has led to the church receiving about five voicemail messages per minute.
A conservative youth organization posted a video shot on the church’s lawn criticizing the church’s decision and likening it to segregation.
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Frontlines host Drew Hernandez called the church and its leaders “wolves in sheep’s clothing pushing doctrines of demons.”
CLOWN WORLD: A woke church in Illinois is fasting from “WHITENESS?” This is not a church, these are wolves in sheep’s clothing pushing doctrines of demons. @TPUSA
WATCH: https://t.co/ZxYR6D2Fg6
LISTEN: https://t.co/U6UB8TvyET pic.twitter.com/1ZaFLomQGJ— Drew Hernandez (@DrewHLive) April 6, 2022
Podcaster Elijah Schaffer called the worship leader who made the announcement “a satanic priest cosplaying as a Christian” on Twitter.
“Fasting from whiteness” says a satanic priest cosplaying as a Christian pic.twitter.com/RXf4lvOgHA
— ELIJAH (@ElijahSchaffer) April 6, 2022
Sports commentator Paul Zeise tweeted a GIF of a facepalm in response to the news.
https://t.co/vVS6IvZ3Oq pic.twitter.com/9u77jt7Hu3
— Paul Zeise (@PaulZeise) April 6, 2022
Despite the unexpected attention, Edgerton said the choice to fast from “whiteness” and focus on African American spirituals, South African freedom songs, songs from Native American traditions, and Spanish hymns has “been so good.”
“What we have allowed to become front and center is the beautiful, joyful, amazing contributions to sacred music and to the Christian life that have come from the global majority of Christians, which is people of color,” Edgerton said.
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“Our choir has been loving the repertoire,” he added. “We have had more visitors than we have in a long time. Our congregation has been challenged in all the best ways in the way that a workout can be challenging, so that you know that at the end of it, greater health and strength has come of it.”
