The Anti-Racism Commission's monthly newsletter goes out to all ARC supporters and training participants. Please forward it to others who might benefit from our resources and workshops. And check out our blog site for past articles, training information and ongoing resources.

Sat. Apr. 29, 2023 from 9 am to noon on Zoom

Fee: $15. Scholarships are available, especially for postulants and

candidates for ordination. Email arc@diopa.org.

This training explores the multi-layered manifestations of prejudice, privilege, race, and systemic racism. The next training will be Racism and Institutions on Jun. 24.

The Anti-Racism Commission's anti-racism training series is facilitated by Lailah Dunbar-Keeys and designed to help participants understand the historic creation, preservation, and personal and institutional effects of a society built upon ideas of racial difference, which in turn support an unjust, racially based hierarchy. The series repeats annually, and offers the Introduction to Systemic Racism training 3 times a year. Anti-racism trainings are mandatory for clergy and open to all. Completion of all 5 trainings over 2 years meets the initial clergy requirement for anti-racism education. Email arc@diopa.org to obtain a certificate of completion.

On Sat. Mar. 18, more than 60 people gathered in the Great Hall of the African Episcopal Church of St. Thomas for a workshop on African American spirituals led by clinicians Ruth Naomi Floyd, Dr. Jay Fluellen, Carrie Lessene, and Dr. Thomas Lloyd.

• Watch the full workshop: March 18, 2023 workshop: Singing the African American Spirituals with Integrity (116 mins)
• Watch the Introduction to Heritage Murals by special visiting guest historian Art Sudler (8 mins)
• Watch Intermezzo Choir Ministry's performance during our closing worship (17 mins)

• Watch MLK Service of Remembrance at Philadelphia Episcopal Cathedral. (91 mins) The service leaflet can be found here.

On Tues. Apr. 4, 55 years since The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated, Red Letter Christians and Philadelphia Episcopal Cathedral hosted an event in Philadelphia at 6:01pm - the time King was killed. The bells of the Philadelphia Episcopal Cathedral tolled 55 times. Excerpts from King’s writing and speeches were read and reflected on by a diverse group of faith leaders, including The Very Rev. Judith Sullivan (Philadelphia Episcopal Cathedral), Rabbi Eli Freedman (Congregation Rodeph Shalom), The Rev. David W. Brown (Bridge Walk for Peace), and Imam Quaiser Abdullah (Quba Institute). Shane Claiborne (RAWTools) chopped up a gun just like the one that killed Dr. King and turned it into garden tool.

On Sat. Mar. 11, more than 60 people gathered at Saint Mark’s in Philadelphia for a discussion on theology, race, and the church with scholars The Rev. Dr. Sarah Coakley and Dr. Vincent Lloyd. They discussed becoming unstuck from the conversation of race and racism in the world and in the church. The Rev. Dr. Sarah Coakley taught at the divinity schools of Harvard and Princeton Universities and at the University of Cambridge in the UK. Her theological inquiry has explored matters of gender and sexuality. Dr. Vincent Lloyd is a professor of theology and religious studies at Villanova University, as well as director of Africana Studies there. He has written widely about race from a theological perspective, including an examination of the way the Black Lives Matter movement intersects with religion and the ways it may not.

The following resources reflect topics that ARC training participants have requested more information about. Email arc@diopa.org and know what resources would help you in your anti-racism work.  

Anti-Racism, Reparations, and The Episcopal Church

• Racial Reconciliation Ministries (TEC): Reconciliation is the spiritual practice of seeking loving, liberating and life-giving relationship with God and one another, and striving to heal and transform injustice and brokenness in ourselves, our communities, institutions and society
• Social Justice & Advocacy Engagement Ministries (TEC): Social justice and advocacy engagement is the work of Episcopalians to build community networks for justice by connecting and mobilizing people “from the pews to the public square”
• A Selection of Episcopal and Related Antiracism Trainings and Curricula in English and Spanish (TEC)
• Protesting Faithfully. The Episcopal Street-Action Handbook (TEC): Grounded in Episcopal social ethics, this handbook is a resource for religious or spiritual leaders who will be involved in protests or are interested in providing spiritual care in the context of nonviolent direct action
• Becoming Beloved Community: The Episcopal Racial Reconciliation, Healing & Justice Newsletter - April 2023 (TEC)
• Sacred Ground Action Group by Julia Wight (St. John the Baptist Episcopal Church, West Seattle): Essay from the Becoming Beloved Community Newsletter
• Racial Justice and Reconciliation (ENS): Race-related Episcopal News Service articles

A More Perfect Union: establishing justice and insuring domestic tranquility in Philadelphia

• Inventing Solitary: In 1790, Philadelphia opened the first American penitentiary, with the nation’s first solitary cells. Black people were disproportionately punished from the start. by Samantha Melamed
• Ghosts in the Water: Philadelphia created the city pool as we know it. What went wrong? by Zoe Greenberg
• The Blueprint: From a bus line named Jim Crow to racial violence at public parks, racism shaped Philadelphia. Can we imagine a more equitable city? by Layla A. Jones and Dain Saint

Learn more about Christians Against White Christian Nationalists

• Christians Against White Christian Nationalists’ Responding to Christian Nationalism Curriculum (free)
• Democracy and Faith Under Siege: Responding to Christian Nationalism, featuring The Most Rev. Michael Curry, Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church (62 mins) 
• White Christian Nationalism: How Racism Undergirds Christian Nationalism (64 mins)
• Confronting Christian Nationalism in Your Congregation (61 mins)
• God’s Country in Black and Blue: How Christian Nationalism Shapes Americans’ Views about Police (Mis)treatment of Blacks by Samuel L. Perry, Andrew L. Whitehead, and Joshua T. Davis
• Christian America in Black and White: Racial Identity, Religious-National Group Boundaries, and Explanations for Racial Inequality by Samuel L. Perry and Andrew L. Whitehead

Image: "A Selection of Images from Mother Africa" Heritage Mural painted by artist Robert C. Moore in the Great Hall of the African Episcopal Church of St. Thomas (6361 Lancaster Ave, Philadelphia, PA 19151). Learn more.

The Anti-Racism Commission was created by diocesan convention resolution in 2005 with the mandate “to affect the systemic and institutional transformation in the diocese away from the sin of racism and toward the fulfillment of the Gospel and the baptismal mandate to strive for justice and respect the dignity of all persons.”

Consisting of 12 members, a mix of clergy and lay and persons of various ethnic and cultural backgrounds, the commission aims to increase awareness of the history and legacy of racism in our country and to engage members of the diocese in dismantling its effects.

To learn more about how ARC can help your parish engage in the work of racial justice and repair, contact The Rev. Barbara Ballenger (barbballenger@gmail.com) or The Rev. Ernie Galaz (frernie@christchurchmedia.org), ARC co-chairs.