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. Oct. 26, 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 will challenge us to think about the ways in which we can be actively accountable for identifying, resisting, and responding to the racism that shows up in our lives and the institutions in which we participate. We will explore various ways to act, resist and transform systemic racism to create anti-racist environments. The 2025 Anti-Racism Training Schedule is available now on our blogsite.

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, please email arc@diopa.org.

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

Want to volunteer to be a small group discussion facilitator for ARC anti-racism trainings? Please complete this brief questionnaire.

 Next Steps for ARC Anti-Racism Training Series Alumni

The Anti-Racism Commission wants to learn how alumni of ARC trainings are engaging in racial justice and repair. In November, ARC will invite alumni to complete a survey about their experiences. In January 2025, ARC will host a Zoom meeting to learn about alumni experiences and support their efforts. Stay tuned for more information.

Singing the African American Spirituals with Integrity

Photo: Clinician Dr. Jay Fluellen, Organist/Choir Director, African Episcopal Church of St. Thomas, and guest musician Soprano Jillian Patricia Pirtle, Marian Anderson Historical Society Executive Director and CEO, perform at Singing the African American Spirituals with Integrity on Oct. 5 at St. Peter's Glenside.

More than 70 attendees experienced the power of the African American Spirituals and learned how to introduce them to their choir or congregation.

Featured clinicians Dr. Jay Fluellen, Organist/Choir Director, African Episcopal Church of St. Thomas, Carrie Lessene, Artistic Director, Intermezzo Choir Ministry, Jarrett Roseborough, Director, Pine Forge Academy Choir, and Dr. Thomas Lloyd, Canon for Music and the Arts, Philadelphia Episcopal Cathedral, took turns modeling how they teach the Spirituals to their choirs and congregations.

Closing worship was led by The Rev. Barbara Ballenger, Rector of St. Peter’s Glenside and Co-chair of the Anti-Racism Commission, with homilist The Rev. Toneh Smyth, Canon for Mission, and featured solo performances from Soprano Jillian Patricia Pirtle, Bass Brenton Mattox, and Bass Marcus Simmons from the The Marian Anderson Historical Society Chorus.

Thank you to everyone who attended!

Watch videos of the workshop (courtesy of Philadelphia Episcopal Cathedral):

• Workshop part 1
• Workshop part 2
• Worship service

Recommended resources about African American Spirituals and their historical context:

• The Spirituals and the Blues by James H. Cone
• The Souls of Black Folk by W. E. B. Du Bois
• Deep River and the Negro Spiritual Speaks of Life and Death by Howard Thurman

Photo: Clinician Jarrett Roseborough, Director, Pine Forge Academy Choir, encouraged participants to embody the music and meaning of a song by imagining working from sunup to sundown in a rock quarry as they sang the Spiritual "True Religion" arranged by Roland Carter.

Photo: Clinicians Jarrett Roseborough, Director, Pine Forge Academy Choir, Dr. Jay Fluellen, Organist/Choir Director, African Episcopal Church of St. Thomas, homilist The Rev. Toneh Smyth, Canon for Mission, The Rev. Barbara Ballenger, Rector of St. Peter’s Glenside and Co-chair of the Anti-Racism Commission, clinician Dr. Thomas Lloyd, Canon for Music and the Arts, Philadelphia Episcopal Cathedral, and clinician Carrie Lessene, Artistic Director, Intermezzo Choir Ministry.

Sun. Oct. 20, 20241 from 4 to 6 pm at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Catholic Church

235 E State St, Doylestown

Tickets: $10-30

For more information, visit buckschoral.org or call 215-230-3836.

Join the Bucks County Choral Society, Thomas Lloyd, Artistic Director, for its 52nd season opening concert Sunday, October 20 at 4 pm at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Church in Doylestown. The concert will include 2 movements from Floyd's latest work bringing history alive through jazz.

Sometimes a performing artist comes along whose voice is so unique, so special, that it makes us simply glad to be alive...such an artist is jazz vocalist and composer Ruth Naomi Floyd.

Ruth has collaborated with Thomas Lloyd, Choral Society artistic director and member of the Diocesan Anti-Racism Commission, to add a choral voice to her usual jazz ensemble palette, and on Sunday you'll be able to hear the sound of the original solo octet grow in depth with the full 75 voices of the Choral Society.

Ruth Naomi Floyd's appearance, along with the incredible vitality of the Pine Forge Academy Choir directed by Jarrett Roseborough will truly make Sunday's concert one to long treasure.

ARC Recommends: The Bill of Obligations by Richard Haass

Co-written by Ernie Dixon, Commission Member, and Messapotamia Lefae

Ernie Dixon self-identifies as Black or African American and has been an Anti-Racism Commission member since May 2023.

In 2021, Ernie joined the Adult Formation Book Group at Trinity Episcopal Church Ambler (Book Group), which meets every Wednesday night on Zoom. Book Group offers a safe space for all members to engage in challenging conversations about race and racism and to reflect on past experiences with an open heart and mind.

I love the diversity among the 11 members of the Book Group. Although we have different life experiences, we share a common goal to combat racism and often agree on the path towards our goal. Sometimes it feels like we are in an echo chamber. It’s reassuring that other members of the Book Group see eye-to-eye, however, it’s also important that we get outside of our echo chamber and talk to people who aren’t like us. Engaging in open dialogue with people who have differing beliefs is valuable for growth and understanding. 

Reading The Bill of Obligations: The Ten Habits of Good Citizens by Richard Haass, motivated the Book Group to create opportunities to discuss race and racism with those whose experience and opinions differ from ours. In The Bill of Obligations, Richard Haass advises that electorates need to be educated so we can contribute in a productive manner. That's what it means to be a good American Citizen. He writes that we all need to know our history and how the government works. Everyone must make decisions based on real information, from various sources of news and information if we want our society to get past ignorance and systemic racism. 

As a result of reading The Bill of Obligations, the Book Group created a survey to share with others to promote discussions about issues that are important to you. Perhaps the survey will encourage responders to reflect on their position concerning matters that cause disagreement. For example, what life experiences support your position; are you open to consider how and why others have a different position? The survey questions are meant to prepare you for a discussion by reducing anxiety and hostility. Ultimately, we learn from each other through dialogue. 

The Book Group encourages you to complete the survey for self-assessment. Perhaps the questions will also help you to engage in conversation with someone who may not align with your beliefs. The Book Group is not collecting the survey results; however, ARC would appreciate any comments about the survey questions or your answers. Share your thoughts.

Email arc@diopa.org and let us know what resources would help you in your anti-racism work. Visit our blog The ARC for more anti-racism resources.

Commitment to Racial Reconciliation at General Convention

At the 81st General Convention in Louisville, KY, numerous resolutions that address a wide range of racial justice and reconciliation issues received approval from both houses and passed. 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.