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. Aug. 26, 2023 from 9 am to noon on Zoom

Fee: $15. Scholarships are available, especially for postulants and

candidates for ordination. Email arc@diopa.org.

This training explores the multi-layered manifestations of prejudice, privilege, race, and systemic racism. The next training will be Racism and Identity on Sep. 30.

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. The series repeats annually, and offers the Introduction to Systemic Racism training 3 times a year. 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.

Personal storytelling has the ability to connect, heal, and transform, and taps into a deep need for people to been seen, validated, and part of a community. The Anti-Racism Commission's new Telling Our Stories series invites participants to listen and reflect on the impact of racism in the lives of real people in our diocese.

In 3 interactive sessions of theater and discussion, participants see themselves in one another’s stories of race and racism as they are reinterpreted for the stage by members of Playback for Change, a Philadelphia-based company that facilitates racial understanding using the improvisational theater form Playback Theatre.

Audience members’ real stories become the source material. The performance is spontaneous - it is theater created through a unique collaboration between performers and audience. Each performance will use the practice of affinity spaces to prepare participants to have a deeper, braver and more honest conversation.

Exploring Our Whiteness

This session is designed for an all-White audience to share stories of learning, upholding, and resisting racist beliefs and behaviors.

Sat. Sep. 23, 2023

from 2 to 4 pm at TBA

Telling the Whole Story

This session is designed for an audience of people who self-identify as Black, Brown, or a person of color to share stories of healing, community building, and honoring unique racial identities.

Sat. Oct. 14, 2023

from 2 to 4 pm at TBA

Creating Common Cause

This session is designed for an audience of all racial identities to share their stories of resisting and healing from racism. The goal: to work together in solidarity to dismantle systemic racism.

Sat. Nov. 18, 2023

from 2 to 4 pm at TBA

Each session costs $15 per person or $50 for a group of 5 or more. Tickets for each of the 3 sessions are sold separately. Financial assistance is available. Email arc@diopa.org.

For any questions about the Telling Our Stories series, Playback for Change, or Playback Theatre, please email The Rev. Barbara Ballenger(barbballenger@gmail.com).

Email arc@diopa.org and let us know what resources would help you in your anti-racism work. 

Mercy and truth are met together

• Beloved by Toni Morrison
• Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates
• On Repentance And Repair: Making Amends in an Unapologetic World by Danya Ruttenberg
• Resurrection Hope by Dean Kelly Brown Douglas
• The Fire This Time: A New Generation Speaks About Race by Jesmyn Ward
• The Racial Healing Handbook: Practical Activities to Help You Challenge Privilege, Confront Systemic Racism, and Engage in Collective Healing by Anneliese Singh

Whoever serves must do so with the strength that God supplies

• Why Telling Our Own Story Is So Powerful for Black Americans by Andrea Collier
• Not a Minority: Why Language Matters in Ending Biases and Improving Mental Health by Martha Rodriguez, LCSW
• NAHJ asks newsrooms to drop the use of “minority” when referencing communities of color by the National Association of Hispanic Journalists
• Telling the Truth, Proclaiming the Dream: Stories of Leadership, Racial Injustice, and Healing from Deputies, Bishops, and Leaders of Color in The Episcopal Church by Diane D’Souza and Donna Bivens

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.