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The NT-NL Public Witness for Peace and Justice team is offering a workshop that will address racism from a faith-based perspective:

• Theology: what we believe; what God calls us to be and do
• History: how the past influences us today
• Accountability: how the Lutheran Church in faithfulness to God’s call must deal with the reality of racism

This workshop is designed to provide participants in the NT-NL missional area with an analysis that specifically focuses on systemic rather than individual factors of racism.  Through facilitated dialogue, the workshop will increase understanding of what racism is, how it is manifested in all systems and institutions, and the role of Church in dismantling racism in the community of faith and in society at large.

The facilitators are skilled in helping to create a liberated space for developing a common language and understanding that opens the door for new, bold, and courageous conversations on institutional and structural racism.  These discussions are critical for discovering the deeply rooted issues that have become barriers to pursuing the mission that God has entrusted to the Church.

This safe place creates an atmosphere for all to engage in creative thinking, that hopefully will lead to ongoing training and organizing support of a movement toward becoming an anti-racist Church.

This event is part of an effort by the NT-NL Synod to fulfill the resolution passed at the 2016 Churchwide Assembly that synods offer anti-racism training events at least once every two years.

Facilitators

Mrs. Joyce James is a racial equity consultant who provides training and technical assistance to organizations across the country as they address institutional and structural racism. She is the former Associate Deputy Executive Commissioner for the Center for the Elimination of Disproportionality and Disparities and the Texas State Office of Minority Health. Mrs. James is credited with being the pioneer of efforts to address racial disproportionality and disparities in the Texas Child Protective Services (TxCPS) where she served as the Assistant Commissioner. Under her leadership, Texas became the first state in the country to pass legislation requiring that a state agency such as TxCPS address racial disproportionality. Mrs. James is recognized nationally for the model she created and implemented that led to a reduction in disproportionality and disparities for African American and Native American children served through state agencies. She is a presenter with The People’s Institute for Survival and Beyond and was a keynote speaker at the 2014 Synod Assembly.

Rev. Joseph Barndt is an ELCA pastor who has dedicated the majority of his ministry to addressing issues of racism. For eighteen years, he was the director of Crossroads Ministry (Chicago), an organization committed to dismantling racism and promoting anti-racist, multicultural diversity within communities. For over forty years, Pastor Barndt has been an anti-racism trainer. He is the author of a number of books, including Becoming an Anti-Racist Church: Journeying Toward Wholeness and Understanding and Dismantling Racism: The Twenty-First Century Challenge to White America. Pastor Barndt is a community organizer and trainer with The People’s Institute for Survival and Beyond. He has served several congregations in California and Arizona.

Dates and Times

Friday, March 9, 4:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.

Saturday, March 10, 8:30 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.

Other Details

Cost includes lunch on Saturday. This training is valued at $400 per person, not including any meals or facilities.

There are reasonably priced hotels in the area for those who may have difficulty commuting.

Some funding is available for those who may need assistance with registration and/or hotel fees. Please contact the Rev. Chuck Hubbard, cell 214-395-6978 (leave a message or send a text).

Registration is limited to 40 people. (We will secure your spot when we receive your payment.)

Click here for a brochure / bulletin insert.

REGISTER NOW.