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. Nov. 12 from 9 am to 12 pm on Zoom

Registration is free and open to lay and clergy who identify as African American.

The Diocese of Pennsylvania's Anti-Racism Commission is hosting a series of racial healing circles with Lailah Dunbar-Keeys.

A racial healing circle is 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. This particular racial healing circle is for an African American affinity group. Our intention is to convene a multicultural racial healing circle in the future.

Some of the questions you will be challenged to consider are:

• When did you first discover that you were a part of a racial group?
• What messages did you learn from your family about your racial group?
• What messages did you learn from society (mass media, school, church, etc.) about your racial group?
• How did you cope with being seen as the “other”?
• Could you share a story about a time when you felt powerful?

Save the date and register to attend. Each racial healing circle is limited to 20 participants, so be sure to save the date and register for an upcoming racial healing circle on Eventbrite:

• Sat. Nov. 12, 2022
• Sat. Feb. 18, 2023
• Sun. May 21, 2023
• Sat. Nov. 11, 2023

For any questions about our racial healing circle series, please email The Rev. Barbara Ballenger ([email protected]), ARC co-chair.

Sat. Oct. 29 from 9 am to 12 pm on Zoom

Fee: $15. Scholarships available.

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.

The Diocese's anti-racism training series is 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 workshop 3 times a year. Anti-racism trainings are mandatory for clergy and open to all. Completion of all 5 workshops over 2 years meets the initial clergy requirement for anti-racism education.

O Lord our Governor, bless the leaders of our land, that we may be a people at peace among ourselves and a blessing to other nations of the earth. Lord, keep this nation under your care.

To the President and members of the Cabinet, to Governors of States, Mayors of Cities, and to all in administrative authority, grant wisdom and grace in the exercise of their duties. Give grace to your servants, O Lord.

To Senators and Representatives, and those who make our laws in States, Cities, and Towns, give courage, wisdom, and foresight to provide for the needs of all our people, and to fulfill our obligations in the community of nations. Give grace to your servants, O Lord.

To the Judges and officers of our Courts give understanding and integrity, that human rights may be safeguarded and justice served. Give grace to your servants, O Lord.

And finally, teach our people to rely on your strength and to accept their responsibilities to their fellow citizens, that they may elect trustworthy leaders and make wise decisions for the well-being of our society; that we may serve you faithfully in our generation and honor your holy Name. For yours is the kingdom, O Lord, and you are exalted as head above all.

Amen.

From the Book of Common Prayer, Prayers for National Life (22). More prayers for racial justice can be found on our blog THE ARC. 

• Disunity in Christ by Christena Cleveland
• Divided by Faith by Michael Emerson and Christian Smith
• I Bring the Voices of My People: A Womanist Vision for Racial Reconciliation by Chanequa Walker-Barnes
• Trouble I’ve Seen by Drew G. I. Hart
• Me and White Supremacy by Layla F. Saad

• Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
• Beloved by Toni Morrison
• Go Tell It On the Mountain by James Baldwin
• The Fire This Time by Jesmyn Ward
• The Hate You Give by Angie Thomas 

• Jelan Agnew: Black Folk Mental Health: Generational Trauma, Traditions & Truth (10 mins)
• Karen Leung: Embracing Multilingualism and Eradicating Linguistic Bias (9 mins)
• Sara Jones: Reclaiming my voice as a transracial adoptee (14 mins)
• Dina Nayeri: Who Gets Believed? (21 mins)
• Kim Bogucki: Us versus them (13 mins) 

• White Lies by NPR
• The 1619 Project by the New York Times
• Uncivil by Gimlet Media 
• Pass the Mic by The Witness Podcast Radio 
• Seeing White by Scene On Radio

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 ([email protected]) or The Rev. Ernie Galaz ([email protected]), ARC co-chairs.