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. Sep. 7, 2024 from 9 am to 12 pm at St. Michael's Yeadon

813 Longacre Blvd, Yeadon

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

Each racial healing circle is limited to 20 participants.

Pre-register online or at the door. Doors opens at 8:30 am.

The Anti-Racism Commission is offering in-person 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.

Download, print, and share this flyer with anyone you think would be interested in participating in the September 7 in-person racial healing circle.

Pre-register for next in-person racial healing circle scheduled for Sat. Oct. 5, 2024.

For any questions about ARC's racial healing circle series, please email The Rev. Barbara Ballenger (barbballenger@gmail.com), ARC co-chair.

Sat. Sep. 28, 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 informs our personal identity, behaviors and outcomes. We will develop a sociological understanding of the concepts colorblindness, colorism, cultural appropriation, unconscious bias, micro-aggressions, White fragility, and White privilege. The next training is Racism and Active Accountability on Oct. 26.

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.

If you have a mind and heart and the skill to facilitate, and if you have taken ARC's anti-racism trainings, please consider volunteering to be a breakout room facilitator for ARC's anti-racism trainings, which are on Saturday mornings on Zoom. Email arc@diopa.org to learn more.

Workshop - Singing the African American Spirituals with Integrity

Sat. Oct. 5, 2024 from 2 to 5 pm at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church

654 N Easton Rd, Glenside

Tickets: $20. Scholarships are available. Email arc@diopa.org.

This will be an in-person workshop and open to all. Video-recorded, but not live-streamed. Sponsored by the Anti-Racism Commission of the Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania.

Featured clinicians:

Dr. Jay Fluellen, Organist/Choir Director, African Episcopal Church of St. Thomas, Philadelphia

Carrie Lessene, Artistic Director, Intermezzo Choir Ministry, Philadelphia

Jarrett Roseborough, Director, Pine Forge Academy Choir

Dr. Thomas Lloyd, Canon for Music and the Arts, Philadelphia Episcopal Cathedral

Closing worship led by:

The Rev. Barbara Ballenger, Rector, St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, Glenside, and Co-chair, Anti-Racism Commission

Homilist:

The Rev. Toneh Smyth, Canon for Mission, The Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania

Guest musicians:

The Marian Anderson Historical Society Chorus - Jay Fluellen, Director

Watch and Learn: Youth Group with a “Hook”

Meredith Wiggins, Commission Member

Kids want to see faith in action. They want to be change makers. I use movies and videos in my youth classroom to encourage kids to process and understand how to bring the gospel into the world we live in now. Racism is at the root of many of the most troubling and heartbreaking problems in our city, and our schools are often at the front lines of race in Philadelphia. Movies, short videos, and video clips help us frame these problems in concise ways and provide a common point-of-reference to talk about issues affecting their own lives in a safe way.

This month, I am going to share a bunch of digital resources that I use to find that perfect video - the “hook” of my lesson - to keep kids interested, engaged, and awake. You can search any of these resources for “racism” or “antiracism” to get a lot of great videos.

• Teach with Movies features movies with ready made lesson plans and tips for parents. Be sure to update and adapt their discussion questions and lesson plans for your class. They provide links to related material that are often very helpful. A quick search yielded resources for Selma, Native Son, 12 Years a Slave, Hidden Figures, Black Klansman, and many more.
• TrueTube contains RE (religious education) award-winning short videos from the UK. There are a lot of amazing films that you can search by age and subject. Because it is for the UK, you’ll find a lot of films on refugees, Islam, and race from a UK perspective. They are always thought-provoking and worth watching.
• Wing Clips is a great resource, with movie clips indexed by theme, and organized by key words. I almost always get something unexpected and powerful by searching here.
• ClassHook is organized for teachers into common core subjects by age.
• Clip Cafe is another searchable video clip resource.
• The Root/Unpack That (YouTube) - The Root is a Black media YouTube site that has a bunch of good videos. Look at the playlist Unpack That for a good film on White privilege, and one on how Jesus came to be portrayed as White.
• Participant/Soul Pancakes (YouTube) - Many of you will remember the site Soul Pancakes, which included Kid President. If you are looking for them, they have combined with Participant on YouTube and still have some good videos.
• TedX is the education arm of TED Talks and has tons of good anti-racism resources. 
• TedX: Let's get to the root of racial injustice by Megan Ming Francis (20 mins) In this video, Megan Ming Francis tells a moving story about her brother, a Temple University student, who was caught up in a police stop in North Philly that kids will relate to.

Sacred Ground Facilitators of Color Support Network Webinar

Sat. Sep. 14 at 1 pm on Zoom

To register, email Krista Bradley (kristabrad25@gmail.com) or Jo Ann Williams (bjwilli@surewest.net). Learn more.

Sacred Ground Fall Webinar Kickoff with Presiding Bishop Michael Curry

Sat. Sep. 17 from 1 to 2:30 pm on Zoom

Learn more.

Summit on Truth-telling and Reparations

Sep. 19-21 at the Virginia Theological Seminary, Alexandria, VA

This summit is a crucial gathering for Episcopal lay and clergy leaders engaged in reparations and truth-telling ministries, so they can share strategy, best practices, resources, prayers and encouragement with one another. If your diocese, congregation or organization is in any way engaged in the work of racial truth-telling and reparations – unearthing and naming historic racial injustices, reckoning with systemic harm, discerning what constitutes healing and repair, and/or working toward concrete plans toward reparations and repair – please plan to join. Learn more.

Join the Episcopal Coalition for Racial Equity and Justice

The Episcopal Coalition for Racial Equity and Justice is a voluntary association of Episcopal dioceses, parishes, organizations, and individuals dedicated to the work of becoming the beloved community. All groups and individuals at every level of the church who faithfully engage in the work of truth-telling, reckoning, and healing for racial equity, justice, and the dismantling of White supremacy are invited to join the Episcopal Coalition for Racial Equity and Justice by completing an online questionnaire and signing on. Learn more.

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.

Recommended by Friends of ARC

• Blindspot: Hidden Biases of Good People by Mahzarin Banaji and Anthony Greenwald
• White Fragility by Robin Diangelo
• The Bill of Obligations by Richard Haass
• The Black Panther Party Ten-Point Program (1966)

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.

Download, print, and share this flyer with anyone you think would be interested in ARC's virtual anti-racism training and racial healing circles, and in-person workshops like Singing the African American Spirituals with Integrity or ARC's playback theatre workshop series Telling Our Stories.

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.

Photo: Performance by Intermezzo Choir Ministry (Carrie Lessene, Artistic Director) at the Singing the African American Spirituals with Integrity workshop at the African Episcopal Church of St. Thomas, Philadelphia, in March 2023.