This Commission meets monthly to review the actions and progress of the team members and subgroups. We are in the process of preparing a midterm report based on the information gathered from the verbal and written testimonies and survey results from the sharing of experiences of racism and other mistreatments within MCC. We are grateful to those who shared their stories with us. The anticipated release date is early 2022. The Commission continues to keep its charter at the forefront, to make lasting, structural, and systemic changes in the organization that will make a positive difference. The commission recognizes that additional work remains, as we continue to gather additional information and to listen to people throughout MCC.
We are shocked and saddened with the news of the passing of Camille Rodriguez Araullo, Co-coordinator of Diversity, Inclusion and Laity Development. Camille, along with Stedney Phillips, consulted with the Commission early in their tenure and we had great plans for our partnership in 2022. While this portion of our work may be delayed, we are committed to completing our tasks that are outlined in our charter. Our hearts go out to Camille’s family, church and community.
At the beginning of each Commission meeting we reflect upon the current events of the day. This is an enduring part of each agenda, so that we are sure that we continue to be aware of the changing world around each of us, and the impact of global events on our denomination, MCC churches, and the people of MCC. Recently Barbados, an island country in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies in the Caribbean region of the Americas, became the newest Republic as it broke from having the British Monarch as its head of state. A ceremony marked the culmination of this process. In another reminder of the changing world around us, Josephine Baker was the first Black woman to be bestowed the high honor of being inducted into France’s Pantheon. Both circumstances speak to the global nature of race and anticolonialism.
Several complex cases remain in focus in the US. A jury found three white men guilty of the numerous murder charges they faced in the killing of Ahmaud Arbery, a black man. A trial is underway in the fatal shooting of Daunte Wright, a black man who was killed by an officer who said she confused her taser with her weapon. The USA FBI reported that anti-Asian hate crimes rose 73% in 2020, a disproportionate increase for this community. These and many other circumstances that impact our broader community serve as continued reasons to keep making every effort possible to move the institution of MCC towards equity.
Please keep the Commission members in your prayers.
In solidarity and partnership in ministry
Rev. Dr. Roland Stringfellow, MCC Detroit, USA (Co-Chair)
Rev. Elder Cecilia Eggleston, Moderator UFMCC (Co-Chair)
Rev. Cathy Alexander, MCC Staff
Mr. Kedric Brown, Resurrection MCC, Houston TX, USA
Ms. Clare Coughlin, Governing Board UFMCC
Mr. Juan Garcia, MCC of Washington DC, USA
Rev. Jakob Hero-Shaw, MCC Tampa, USA
Mr. Richard Norman, Good Hope MCC, South Africa
Ms. Ivana Warwick, ICM Sao Paulo, Brazil
