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. Mar. 23, 2024 from 9 am to 12 pm on Zoom

Fee: $20. Scholarships are available, especially for postulants and candidates for ordination. Email arc@diopa.org.

This training explores the ways in which systemic racism was created over time through laws, policies and practices. We will consider selected laws, policies and practices, while examining the ways in which our society has been continuously shaped by them. The next training is Introduction to Systemic Racism on Apr. 27.

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.

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. For more information, questions or concerns, or if you are interested in being a Zoom breakout room group facilitator, please email arc@diopa.org.

Download, print, and share this flyer with anyone you think would be interested in anti-racism training.

Sat. Mar 9, 2024 from 9 am to 12 pm on Zoom

Free and open to lay and clergy who identify as African American.

Each racial healing circle is limited to 20 participants.

The Anti-Racism Commission is offering racial healing circles facilitated by Lailah Dunbar-Keeys intended to gather African Americans from the Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania community to discuss the ways in which systemic racism has affected American culture and has consequently impacted their lives. Racial healing circles provide a safe space for a small group of participants to speak about, listen to, and subsequently heal from stories about race and racism.

Register for more than 1 or all of the upcoming racial healing circles, scheduled for: Apr. 13, Sep. 14, and Oct. 12, 2024. For any questions about ARC's racial healing circle series, please email The Rev. Barbara Ballenger (barbballenger@gmail.com), ARC co-chair.

Download, print, and share this flyer with anyone you think would be interested in participating in a racial healing circle.

Wed. Feb. 7, 21, and 28 at 7 pm at Church of St. Martin-in-the-Fields Houston Room

8000 St. Martin's Lane, Philadelphia

Free and open to all. Community dinner will take place in the Parish Hall at 6 pm each Wednesday. Vegetarian options will be available.

Each Wednesday in February, except Ash Wednesday (Feb. 14), Church of St. Martin-in-the-Fields, Philadelphia will host prominent local BIPOC creators and artists to discuss their work, lives, careers, aspirations, and concerns as People of Color in 2024. Each artist will present for 30 to 40 minutes, followed by a Q&A session. Selected to represent a range of ages, backgrounds, and media, St. Martin's hopes to highlight Black Excellence by using this month of recognition to exemplify the work they strive for throughout the year.

To share their expertise, stories, achievements, and more, St. Martin's will welcome:

• Feb. 7: Jonene Lee, Artist and owner of Philadelphia's NoName Gallery;
• Feb. 21: David Hurd, Organist and Music Director of the Church of Saint Mary the Virgin in New York City; and
• Feb. 28: Vinroy David Brown, Jr., Westminster graduate conductor & educator, and conductor of the Westminster Jubilee Singers.

Whether you are someone who knows little about the work of BIPOC artists and creators, or someone looking to explore deeper, you are welcome at St. Martin's and they hope you will join them on a journey through Black History Month in Music & the Arts. It is important to recognize the challenges which historically under-represented populations still face in 2024. It is by helping to provide artists with platforms to showcase their work and ways to amplify their voices that we can all come together in celebration of the same. For more information, contact Tyrone Whiting, Director of Music & Arts at St. Martin’s, at twhiting@stmartinec.org.

Sat. Feb. 17, 2024 from 10 am to 2 pm at Episcopal Academy Chapel

1785 Bishop White Drive, Newtown Square

Free and open to all. Advanced registration is required. Registration for the gathering and Eucharist service ends Thu. Feb. 15. Registration for the luncheon ended Sat. Feb. 3.

Celebrate the life and ministry of the Blessed Absalom Jones (Nov. 6, 1746 - Feb. 13, 1818), the first African American to be ordained a priest in The Episcopal Church in 1804. Check out this discussion guide about The Rev. Absalom Jones and the history of The Episcopal church.

The gathering starts at 10 am, and will include musical performances by Ruth Naomi Floyd, Shafiq Hicks, CAPA High School Choir, St. James School Choir, and Pine Forge Academy Choir, and The Philadelphia Community Mass Choir. The Eucharistic service begins at 11 am, with Celebrant The Rt. Rev. Daniel G. P. Gutiérrez, XVI Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania, and The Rev. Canon Ronald C. Byrd, Sr., The Episcopal Church Missioner for African Descent Ministries.

All acolytes and banner bearers from every church in the diocese are invited to participate in the processional. Free shuttles will be leaving from St. Luke's Germantown, Calvary St. Augustine, The African Episcopal Church of St. Thomas, St. Jude and the Nativity, and St. Peter's Church/Church of the Crucifixion. The luncheon will follow immediately after the worship service. For more information, contact The Rev. Canon Jordan F. Casson, Canon for Peace and Reconciliation, at rector@stmichaelsyeadon.org or 484-466-5330.

At Philadelphia Episcopal Cathedral from Fri. Jan. 12 to Sat. Feb. 24, 2024

19 South 38th Street, Philadelphia

Journeys and Celebrations features paintings by prominent African American Philadelphia artist James Brantley. Check out a display of available works. Presented by Cathedral Arts in collaboration with the Stanek Gallery. The exhibit is available to view at public events or by appointment. Please contact Thomas Lloyd, Canon for Music and the Arts, at tlloyd@philadelphiacathedral.org or 215-386-0234.

Thu. Apr. 25, 2024 at 7:30 pm at Philadelphia Episcopal Cathedral

19 South 38th Street, Philadelphia

Tickets: $42

Featuring Philadelphia’s own sacred jazz vocalist/composer Ruth Naomi Floyd, Are We Yet Somehow Alive? pairs jazz, blues and gospel with fine art projections to share compelling first-person accounts from enslaved Africans in America. At the intersection of despair, endurance and resistance, these narratives explore what it means to be human amidst the struggle for liberation and dehumanization. Praised for her distinctive sound and progressive jazz ensembles, Floyd uses her soaring mezzo-soprano voice to shine light and find defiant joy in our experience.

Applications are open for Seed Grants (of up to $7,500) and Impact Grants (of up to $15,000) to help support racial justice, healing, reconciliation, and creation care projects. Read the Grant Overview for details about eligibility, criteria, and background information. The deadline to apply is Fri. Mar. 1, 2024. Apply online.

Monthly Zoom Meeting for TEC Racial Justice Leaders

Wed. Feb. 7 at 3 pm EST on Zoom

Free and open to all racial justice leaders in The Episcopal Church.

On the first Wednesday of each month, racial justice leaders from dioceses throughout The Episcopal Church will gather on Zoom to discuss pressing issues, exchange best practices, and illuminate the diverse ministries making an impact across our Church. This platform is not just a meeting, but a sanctuary for ideas, strategies, and mutual support. On Feb. 7, the group will get to know The Rev. Kathleen Walker, Canon Missioner for Black Ministries for the Episcopal Diocese of North Carolina. Save the date for future meetings: Mar. 6, Apr. 3, May 1, Jun. 5, Jul. 3, Aug. 7, Sep. 4, and Oct. 2.

Doing Our Work: An Anti-Racist Affinity Space for White Parents to Build Skills and Accountability

Tuesday Evenings from 7 to 8:30 on Zoom

Feb. 20, Feb. 27, Mar. 5, Mar. 12, Mar. 19, Apr. 2, Apr. 9, and Apr. 16.

Fee: 8 sessions for $240-320 for 1 parent, $450-550 for 2 co-parents/caregivers.

Registration ends Fri. Feb. 16, 2024.

Sarah Halley and Alison Gerig from Playback For Change are launching a new 8-week course for White parents wanting to do internal racial identity and anti-racism work in service of becoming better allies and to support their children's racial competency. "We believe that the more we unlearn our own racism, the better we will be at raising anti-racist children and be in service to building more anti-racist schools and communities." Learn more.

Download, print, and share this flyer with White parents, youth ministry directors, or anyone you think would be interested in this virtual skill-building workshop series.

Critically-acclaimed Films and Documentaries

• Origin Written and directed by Ava DuVernay (141 mins) Based on Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents by Isabela Wilkerson. In theaters now.
• The 13th Directed by Ava DuVernay (100 mins)
• Eyes on the Prize: America’s Civil Rights Years, 1954-1985 Produced by Blackside
• Race - The Power of Illusion Produced by California Newsreel

Learning from the History of the Moravian and Episcopal Churches

• Past Reckoning: Exploring the Racial History of the Moravian and Episcopal Churches by TEC Office of Ecumenical and Interreligious Relations. To access the videos, enter the password: PastReckoning2024!
• Study Guide

Learn about the history of the Moravian and Episcopal Churches, from colonial times to the Civil War, from Reconstruction to Jim Crow, and Civil Rights to today in a series of webinars created by the Racial Reconciliation Working Group of the Moravian-Episcopal Coordinating Committee:

1. Evangelizing Enslaved People: Good News or Control? (44 mins)
2. The Silent Protest Parade: Responses to Racial Violence and Black Leadership in the Church (43 mins)
3. The Church and the City: Integration, Segregation, and White Flight (42 mins)

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.