Our Circle Got Wider: Local, Regional, National, and International

There is no way to adequately cover the scope of the work that the Center for Racial Healing has completed in the past six years in a mere newsletter, but I will do my best to give you a good sketch. I am astounded when reviewing it, by the variety and quality of what we have accomplished. I am grateful to all the facilitators and program presenters who have worked very diligently over these past years to make sure that our programs and Eucharist Centered Dismantling Racism Trainings were excellent. This excellence was achieved by staying focused upon a clear and coherent message with racial healing at the center of it.

Along with the myriad of programs that were hosted, we completed a six-week course of study for 6th to 12th graders in 2019 and kindergarten to 5th grade curriculum which will soon be published by Church Publishing. The design and piloting involved a special team of writers, and children’s teachers. Several of us served as consultants to the teams, but the teams are to be credited for the beautiful products that were produced. We have had so much positive feedback from the hundreds of you across the Church who have used the curriculum for 6th to 12th grade and from the parishes who piloted the later one.

The Center has had the good fortune to work with varying parishes in helping to mobilize this work at that level in a large variety of ways including, coaching, online programming, consultation and developing Eucharist Centered Dismantling Racism workshops to be used across their respective dioceses. At least 80 of the 99 dioceses in the Episcopal Church have engaged with the Center in one way or another and especially through our virtual programming which has been accessed in the UK, West Africa, The Caribbean, South America, New Zealand, and Australia, and across the United States. Though the Covid 19 virus was the source of great tragedy, the Center’s stepping up to the challenge it offered was helpful in enlarging its reach beyond the borders of the United States.

It was clear to us that we had two choices, step into the challenge or die and we chose to step into the challenge. The results were phenomenal. We doubled our database and our donations increased by 50% without us doing anything but offering programs. We did sixty-five programs in 2020 along with the virtual offering of our one-day Eucharist Centered Training which brought many participants from our sister dioceses. It was surprising to see that in less than a year we collected over $8000,00 from more than 150 participants. Along with this very important portion of the racial healing efforts was our strong effort to encourage diocesan wide reading of a common book throughout the diocese accompanied by honest dialogue at the parish level, and to plan pilgrimages to as many places as possible. Many parishes facilitated amazing pilgrimages and included the Center on their itinerary. We have hosted youngsters from middle school, high school, young adults, residents of senior citizens communities, persons who are in transition from prison back into the larger world, clergy and lay alike at the Center and helped them to organize their schedules and sites to visit while enhancing their pilgrimage by raising questions that may not have been on the forefront of their thoughts.

The Center led the work of remembering the eight hundred plus men and women who were lynched in Georgia as this campaign culminated in placing a memorial to them on its grounds. Each year a special program of remembrance is hosted by the Center and usually involves students from the Clark/ Atlanta University Choir and local members of the community.

The Center’s reach has been significant in the United States, and we have been careful to make sure that our programming reflects not only African Americans and whites. We are clear about the need to include all oppressed and marginalized people even though their particular stories are not same, we understand that anyone who is oppressed needs to be acknowledged and that all of us have to stand in solidarity if we intend to end systemic racism. Thus, you can find information at our website and in our programs that will demonstrate this understanding and commitment to Indigenous Peoples, Latinx, African American and Asian Americans /Pacific Islanders. Our program planning year includes upgrading our libraries which can be found on our website and are filled with articles and bits of information on the major groups affected by systemic racism.

One of the other highlights of the past work is the first International Conference on Women of Color and Wellness that the Center hosted. We brought women from Honduras, the Dominican Republic, New Zealand, Ghana and across the United States to Atlanta, Georgia as participants and presenters. It was for four days and all of the women voiced how much it meant to them to be with likeminded women.  The Spanish speaking women who attended continue to voice their appreciation for the provision of translators which allowed them to transcend many of the usual language barriers that they encounter when invited to the United States or predominantly English-speaking events and programs

Since we were and continue to be sure the Center’s healing work regionally, nationally and internationally, needed not to overshadow our intention to stay faithful to local work, we have worked in our neighborhood where the Center sits. We are located across the street from five historically African American Colleges and through our engagement with them and in collaboration with the Diocesan Campus Missioner with whom we share office space we have been able to have programs with an intergenerational focus as well as engaging the community that surrounds us. We have become a symbol of hope and hospitality in our surrounding local community, which was very helpful as we continued to explore how to strengthen those connections.

There is much more to share, but this newsletter has to come to a close. I do hope that you, our faithful supporters, fellow travelers, and seekers of healing will plan to join us on January 4, 2024, from 3:00-5:00 for a grand celebration for me as I continue to the next phase of my journey. But I want you to know that it is for all of us who have held this work close to our hearts and who have worked many hours to create Brave Spaces where healing can occur. With deep gratitude!