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 website for past articles, training information and ongoing resources. | | Photo: Pamela Freeman, Co-Artistic Director of Playback For Change, and an audience member watch as their story came to life on stage at Telling the Whole Story on Oct. 11, 2025 at the African Episcopal Church of St. Thomas, Philadelphia. | | Playback Theatre Workshop Series | | Telling Our Stories: Healing the Wounds of Racism, Becoming Beloved Community | | |
In 4 interactive sessions of theater and discussion, participants see themselves in one another’s stories of race and racism as they are brought to life on stage by members of Playback For Change, a multi-racial, improvisational theatre company based in Philadelphia dedicated to using Playback Theatre as a vehicle for social change.
Audience members’ real stories become the source material. The performance is spontaneous - it is theater created through a unique collaboration between performers and audience. Someone from the audience tells a story or moment from their life, chooses actors to play the different roles, then watches as their story is immediately recreated on “stage.” Learn more.
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Sat. Jan. 17, 2026 from 2 to 4:30 pm at St. Alban’s, Newtown Square
3625 Chapel Rd, Newtown Square, PA 19073
The fourth and final performance will be for everyone to share their stories and experiences of resisting and healing from racism. This performance would also focus on how we all work together, in solidarity, to dismantle systemic racism and White supremacy.
| | ARC Anti-Racism Trainings | | Introduction to Systemic Racism | | |
Sat. Jan. 24, 2026 from 9 am to 12 pm on Zoom
Fee: $20. Scholarships are available, especially for postulants and candidates for ordination. Email diopaarc@gmail.com.
| | This training explores the multi-layered manifestations of prejudice, privilege, race, and systemic racism. The next training will be Racism and History on March 28. | | |
The Anti-Racism Commission's anti-racism training series is facilitated by Lailah Dunbar-Keeys, M.S., M.Ed. 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. For more information, questions or concerns, please email diopaarc@gmail.com.
| | Around the Diocese of Pennsylvania | | Singing the African American Spirituals with Integrity | | Singing the African American Spirituals with Integrity on Nov. 22 at St. David’s, Radnor was attended by more than 45 people. Master teachers of the African American Spirituals Carrie Lessene, Ruth Naomi Floyd, Dr. Jay Fluellen, and Dr. Thomas Lloyd took turns teaching new songs. The event concluded with a worship service of song and praise with The Rev. Thomas Szczerba, Jr. and Philadelphia’s Intermezzo Choir Ministry in the Chapel. | | Photo: Clinician Dr. Jay Fluellen at Singing the African American Spirituals with Integrity on Nov. 22, 2025 at St. David's Episcopal Church, Radnor. | | Photo: Clinicians Ruth Naomi Floyd and Carrie Lessene at Singing the African American Spirituals with Integrity on Nov. 22, 2025 in the Chapel at St. David's Episcopal Church, Radnor. | | |
The Anti-Racism Commission of the Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania is offering racial healing circles facilitated by Lailah Dunbar-Keeys, M.S., M.Ed.
Grounded in historical, cultural, sociological, and spiritual understanding, racial healing circles will provide a safe space for small groups of like-minded people to share their stories about the challenging realities of systemic racism. Learn more.
For questions about ARC's racial healing circles, or if you are interested in hosting a racial healing circle for people who identify as African American at your church, please email The Rev. Andrea Gardner (deaconandreagardner@gmail.com).
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| Be the Change You Want to See in the World | | 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. Ernie Galaz (frernie@christchurchmedia.org), ARC chair. |
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