Beloved Friends-
Today I am thinking about a beautiful word from the Akan (West African) tribe in Ghana- Sankofa. The literal translation of the word is “it is not taboo to fetch what is at risk of being left behind.” The word can be broken down into these pieces:
SAN (return)
KO (go)
FA (look, seek and take).
The Sankofa symbol is a beautiful image of a mythical bird whose feet and body are facing forward but its head is turned backwards. It symbolizes the important value of honoring the past and never forgetting where we have been as we move forward. To the Akan, it is the wisdom of learning from the past that ensures a strong future.
It is a powerful symbol for me as we begin a season of transition at Trinity. I announced earlier this week that I have accepted a new leadership position at the Church Pension Group in New York City and my last Sunday among you will be September 10th.
These past six years have been a season of Sankofa. We have looked back into our rich Episcopal tradition, learning and rekindling the power of this particular branch of the Jesus movement. We have also moved forward together welcoming many new members, deepening our walk with Christ, expanding our reach and extending our hearts into the wider community, lifting up lay leaders and cultivating what I believe is the best church staff ever. And as I said in my announcement, I could not be more confident of the continued and growing beacon of love Trinity will be in the world.
So, as we move forward in the weeks ahead may we hold on to the power of the Sankofa as we live into this in-between time. I pray it can help us as an absolutely exquisite way of encapsulating the import of the lessons we have learned together as well as hope for an unknown future. There is never anything fruitful in simply “going back,” but instead, with God’s help, grace and mercy, we will go forward with new eyes to see and new hands to build the kin-dom of God before us. We must always look back to learn what we never completely knew or admitted before and then facing forward, lean into God’s radical love and trust in the future.
Finally, and perhaps most importantly, it is also not lost on me that this beautiful word comes as a gift from a people who suffered at the hands of the European-African slave trade. Most slaves brought to North America in the 17th century were from Senegal, Gambia, Ghana, Nigeria, Sierra Leone and Benin. The Africans who were taken as slaves from these countries during the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade were known as Akan.
Over the past three years, many of us at Trinity have participated in the Episcopal program called Sacred Ground– an extended invitation to face into a very painful part of our common narrative regarding Race & Faith. This work will never be done and we are having discussions to start another offering this Fall- another Sankofa invitation- look back with courage to face into a dark past and then a commitment to turn around together to move forward into God’s preferred vision of the Beloved Community.
Come home this Sunday as we gather to do what we do best- celebrate the love of the One who is always waiting to be seen and heard and felt in our lives.
And may you never forget that you are loved.
Lisa