Embracing the Sacred in Shades of Black: Celebrating God’s Holy Darkness During Black History Month

As February unfolds its pages of frost into blooms of introspection and celebration, we embrace Black History Month with reverence and joy. It's a poignant time to reflect on the rich tapestry of history woven by African American individuals and to honor the impactful contributions of African-descent ministries within the ELCA. In the spirit of this special month, I will share weekly resources to celebrate the vibrant voices, resilient spirits, and deep faith that African descent authors and ministry leaders bring to our church and society.​

God’s Holy Darkness is a children's book that emerges as a spiritual and visual odyssey, rebuffing the traditional dark/light dichotomy pervasive in religious teachings. The book is an artistic and theological collaboration between writer and podcaster Beckah Selnick, Master of Divinity candidate Sharei Green, and illustrator and ELCA African Descent Ministries program director Nicolette Peñaranda. Through its pages, the book seeks to redefine darkness, framing it as a symbol of beauty, creativity, power, and boldness. Rather than casting darkness in a negative light, God's Holy Darkness celebrates the divine works accomplished during the nights of biblical history. Selnick, Green, and Peñaranda have collectively infused the narrative with a sense of partnership, inclusion, and cultural richness.

Beckah Selnick initiated this project inspired by her mother, Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton’s reflections, and with a keen awareness of her role as an ally in telling this story. She partnered with Sharei Green to ensure the narrative was shaped authentically, echoing a voice that had long been absent from public conversations around race and faith. Illustrator Nicolette Peñaranda envisioned a God with feminine, robust, and majestic qualities – a God with "hips wide enough to birth the universe" and "hair that flows through the night sky", challenging the conventional representations of the divine being. The narratives chosen for God's Holy Darkness feature familiar biblical tales, intended to guide readers towards a renewed understanding of Scripture, where darkness has always been an evident and potent presence. The stories are not obscure but are major scriptural milestones that naturally draw attention to God’s presence in the darkness, inviting a broader interpretation of these well-known events.

For Lutherans and broader readership alike, this book presents an opportunity to transcend the fetters of anti-Black theology and to discover the sacredness inherent in darkness and blackness. It encourages dismantling the simplified binaries that too often govern our spiritual and societal perspectives. Authors of the book hope it will serve as a transformative tool – celebrating the diversity within sacred texts and inviting children, especially those of African descent, to see their blackness as beautiful and divine. The wish is for this book to become a staple in homes and Sunday schools, offering an affirmation of God's love for every hue and a potent counter-narrative to the fear of darkness.

​God's Holy Darkness is more than just a children's story—it is an invitation to embrace and celebrate the sacredness of darkness. It aims to nurture a generation that finds holiness and goodness in blackness and night, reshaping how we approach the divine and each other in the subtle glow of God's nocturnal wonderland.