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RACE AND RECONCILIATION COMMITTEE Dismantling Racism Training, welcoming the Rev. Dr Kelly Brown Douglas, and more.
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he Diocese of Southwest Florida Race and Reconciliation Committee hit the ground running in 2022. One of the top priorities was to implement anti-racism training to conform to The Episcopal Church canons and General Convention resolutions, as well as our new diocesan anti-racism policy. Our first training was attended by more than 50 participants from churches across the diocese spending their day with us in January via Zoom. We will be offering three more opportunities in 2022 for clergy and lay leaders to attend. Registration is available on the diocesan website at https://www.episcopalswfl.org/reconciliation. Feedback from participants is encouraging, and the training team continues to make improvements to enhance the participant experience. One of the highest rated areas of the training is the time spent in small groups discussing the lessons. These breakout sessions are sprinkled throughout the day and focus on dialogue rather than debate as part of our framework. While our participants included a variety of attendees, we were excited that some parishes brought their clergy and vestry teams together to the training. Their experiences were particularly interesting as their breakout sessions were able to also include conversation about how they can bring this work directly into their parish with missional intent. Anti-racism training isn’t the only work of this committee, and providing periodic learning opportunities is also part of the Bishop’s priorities for this work. In February, the committee welcomed Wayne William Snellgrove for a conversation about his experience as a person who was removed from his mother at birth and sent to an indigenous boarding school in Canada before being adopted by a white family in the United States. His story was filled with grace and love, even as he shared the heartbreaking story of losing connection with is tribal ancestors and feeling shame and a lack of belonging as he attempted to assimilate into the white cultural context of his adoptive family. Snellgrove graciously agreed to allow us to record this conversation so that many others can watch and learn about the unfortunate history of these boarding schools as part of our Christian history for which we must reckon and work toward healing. You can find the recording of this important conversation on https://www.episcopalswfl.org/ reconciliation. We invite you to join a Sacred Ground dialogue circle to learn more about those opportunities to learn about the history of race in our nation and the church. We have set up a new email address where we can be reached to answer your specific 10
by the Rev. Paige Hanks
questions about joining or planning to lead a new dialogue circle: SacredGround@episcopalswfl.org And finally, we were pleased to welcome The Very Rev. Dr. Kelly Brown Douglas, Dean of Episcopal Divinity School at Union Theological Seminary, Canon Theologian at Washington National Cathedral, and Theologian in Residence at Trinity Wall Street to the Diocese of Southwest Florida. She introduced her new book Resurrection Hope: A Future Where Black Lives Matter to us for our second Diocesan-wide book study on March 1, 2022. To view a recording of the event and learn more about past and upcoming events, visit https://www. episcopalswfl.org/reconciliation. There is much to learn about the intersection of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the call of The Episcopal Church to prioritize the work of racial healing and justice as the work of discipleship.
DISMANTLING RACISM TRAINING FRIDAY, JUNE 10 SATURDAY, JUNE 11 HELD VIA ZOOM Called the “best diocesan program in years,” when given to the diocesan deacons and members and guests of the Race and Reconciliation Committee in October 2021. “I believe the more we talk about the issue of racism, the more it will be dismantled,” shared another participant. Dismantling Racism is a six-hour training aligned with The Episcopal Church’s priority of racial reconciliation. The training includes a framework for brave group dialogue, an overview of The Episcopal Church’s rationale for addressing racial injustice, a strong grounding in scripture and church tradition, and an overview of notable historical events in America. Trainings are held via Zoom to accommodate clergy and lay leaders who are required to participate.
https://bit.ly/DREDU2
