By David Batstone 

When I was a young boy – growing up in the middle of the United States – the story of Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad fascinated me. I recall, however, that it took me a while to figure out that the Underground Railroad wasn’t actually a railroad, but a network of safe houses for slaves to receive aid and shelter as they fled to the North and their freedom. 

Harriet Tubman herself was a runaway slave from Maryland who became known as the “Moses of her people.” At great personal risk, she returned to the south and led hundreds of slaves to freedom along the Underground Railroad. Many of those safe havens were churches, both black and white, that stood up to be counted among the just. 

Today a new era of slavery has emerged, and once again churches (and other faith communities) are being called upon to rise up to the moral challenge and declare their willingness to stand up for the dignity and freedom that all humans merit as their birthright. 

I cannot express how thrilling it was last week to speak in the sanctuary of the First Presbyterian Church of Berkeley last week. After nearly an hour and a half of presentation, the pastor of the church, Mark Labberton, announced to a packed sanctuary that we would close the formal event, but invited attendees to stay behind and discuss with me how they could join the abolitionist struggle. Fifteen minutes later I was shocked to find nearly half of the audience in their seats, eager to learn how they could get involved. 

A good number in the audience came from Gracepoint Fellowship, another evangelical church located in the East Bay. Just last week Gracepoint declared itself an Abolitionist Church. Gracepoint is a multi-ethnic community – nearly three-quarters Asian American – that draws a big crowd from the University of California campus. Some of the students who are members plan to teach courses on campus about human trafficking; others plan to offer their legal and medical skills for the “aftercare” of trafficking victims. The pastor of Gracepoint, Rev. Ed Kang, made a trip over to Cambodia and met with Hagar International and pursue how the church could be a helpful partner. 

Now the First Presbyterian Church and two other churches in the San Francisco Bay Area are entering a process of declaring themselves Abolitionist Churches. I foresee the sparks of an international movement that could ignite like wildfire. 

To become an Abolitionist Church does not bind a congregation to a single action. Most important is the first step, a declaration that the community will raise its voice in prayer and support of those who have fallen into slavery. We then ask the community to study and pray how it might best serve the abolitionist cause. We are confident that the Spirit of God will make clear ways that it might bring “freedom to the captive.” 

Today’s Abolitionist Churches have a rich tradition of historic witnesses to guide them. Although Plymouth Church was not established in New York until 1847, just fourteen years before the start of the Civil War, it later became known as “the Grand Central Depot” of the Underground Railroad. All this was taking place in New York, one of the most pro-slavery states of the North. 

Plymouth’s first minister, the Rev. Henry Ward Beecher, spearheaded and symbolized Plymouth’s antislavery activity, but the founding members of Plymouth selected him as their pastor in no small part because they knew he would do so. He already had a record as an opponent to slavery when he made those beliefs clear in his trial sermon for Plymouth. 

Beecher and his peers were greatly influenced by the Second Great Awakening, a Protestant religious revival of the early 1800s, firmly committed to abolishing slavery. Beecher held “auctions” at Plymouth to purchase the freedom of escaped slaves. His activities inspired his sister, Harriet, to write Uncle Tom’s Cabin. 

Evidence suggests that escaped slaves were hidden in the homes of several Plymouth members. The Church treasurer, S.V. White, had a small chamber in his house said to have been used to hide runaways, a room that was still in existence in the 1900s. One of the Church’s greatest activists in the Underground Railroad was Lewis Tappan. He is best remembered as a leader in organizing efforts to release the escaped slaves of the Amistad in 1839. 

A new “awakening” is taking place in the global church today. As faith communities learn of the plight of 27 million people held in captivity, they connect to their redemption stories. In that respect, I am finding that faith communities do not need to be persuaded that the work of emancipation should be part of their mission. They only need to summon the courage and faith to bear witness.

http://www.notforsalecampaign.org