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. 18, 2023 from 2 to 5 pm

at the African Episcopal Church of St. Thomas

6361 Lancaster Ave, Philadelphia, PA 19151

Fee: $15. Scholarships are available. Email arc@diopa.org.

This workshop is for church musicians, clergy, and lay people who want to learn more about how to introduce African American Spirituals to their choirs and congregations.

During the first part of the workshop, 4 clinicians, Ruth Naomi Floyd, international jazz composer, performer, and clinician, Dr. Jay Fluellen, Organist/Choir Director, African Episcopal Church of St. Thomas, Carrie Lessene, Artistic Director, Intermezzo Choir Ministry, and Dr. Thomas Lloyd, Canon for Music and the Arts at Philadelphia Episcopal Cathedral and a member of the Anti-Racism Commission, will take turns modeling how they teach the Spirituals to their adult, youth, and children’s choirs, as well as to their congregations. Special attention will be given to the historical context of the music, and the ways in which those who are not direct descendants of the enslaved people who originated the Spirituals can develop their own authentic connection to the music with respect and integrity. Music for these selections will be provided to attendees as part of the workshop.

The afternoon will conclude with a short service of singing, with performances by Intermezzo Choir Ministry, and closing worship led by The Very Rev. Canon Martini Shaw, 17th Rector, African Episcopal Church of St. Thomas. Sponsored by the Anti-Racism Commission of the Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania.

We encourage you to invite your church choir and friends to make the trip to the Historic African Episcopal Church of St. Thomas for a one-of-a-kind workshop. This informal singing workshop model might be a way for more congregations and communities to become more familiar with the history and power of this important body of music and all that it can bring to our struggling world!

Download, print, and share this flyer. Click "Order Tickets" or scan the QR code to order tickets on Eventbrite.

To learn more about African American Spirituals, read A History of the African-American Spiritual: How the African-American Spiritual Has Maintained Its Integrity in the Face of Major Social and Musical Challenges based on an article by Thomas Lloyd.

At last year's African American Spirituals Workshop on May 14, 2022, more than 30 church musicians, clergy, and lay people came together at the Philadelphia Episcopal Cathedral in West Philadelphia. Videos of the last year's Spirituals workshop are available on Cathedral YouTube channel:

• Spirituals Workshop Part I
• Spirituals Workshop Part II
• Gathering Songs, Readings, Prayers, and Homily

Sat. Mar. 25, 2023 from 9 am to noon on Zoom

Fee: $15. Scholarships are available. 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 will be Introduction to Systemic Racism on Apr. 29.

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. 

Racial Justice Must-Reads

• The Charleston Syllabus: Readings on Race, Racism, and Racial Violence Edited by Chad Williams, Kidada E. Williams, Keisha N. Blain
• Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson
• Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America by Ibram X. Kendi
• The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America by Richard Rothstein
• Prayers for a Privileged People by Walter Brueggemann
• On Repentance And Repair: Making Amends in an Unapologetic World by Danya Ruttenberg
• Slavery by Another Name: The Re-Enslavement of Black Americans from the Civil War to World War II by Douglass Blackmon

Black History, Poetry and Illustration for Young Readers

• Schomburg: The Man Who Built a Library by Carole Boston Weatherford and Illustrated by Eric Velasquez
• Moses: When Harriet Tubman Led Her People to Freedom by Carole Boston Weatherford and Illustrated by Kadir Nelson
• The Beatitudes: From Slavery to Civil Rights by Carole Boston Weatherford and Illustrated by Tim Ladig
• Woke: A Young Poet's Call to Justice by Mahogany L. Browne with Elizabeth Acevedo and Olivia Gatwood and Illustrated by Theodore Taylor III
• Black Is a Rainbow Color by Angela Joy and Illustrated by Ekua Holmes

Check out Schomburg's Black Liberation List for Young Readers for essential titles selected by the Schomburg Center as it marks 95 years of collecting and preserving Black history, arts, and culture.

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.