“Discipling Our Imagination: Interrupting Our Biases” is a new online formation experience offered by the Church of the Brethren’s Discipleship Ministries in partnership with Diversity 2 Inclusion. The experience is offered as online workshops or webinars at 7-9 p.m. (Eastern time) on Aug. 24 and 31 and Sept. 7. Credentialed ministers may earn 0.6 continuing education units through the Brethren Academy for Ministerial Leadership. The registration fee is $100.
“It is generally agreed that we all have biases,” said a description. “Sometimes these biases are conscious preferences, such as liking pie better than cake. Yet, at other times, these biases are subtle and take place below our conscious awareness. Far from being neutral, these biases frame the way we experience other people and shape our attitudes about them. Implicit biases inhibit meeting people as made in the image of God and flatten them into one-dimensional persons so that they fit within our mental categories.
“The vision of the scriptures, where all are gathered in the name of Jesus regardless of ethnicity, class, and gender is both beautiful and difficult. Belonging together in the name of Jesus takes intentional effort to interrupt our biases so that we might begin to view and relate to others as God’s beloved people.”
Through recorded and print resources, participants will learn about how status and bias inhibit belonging together in the name of Christ. Through live video conferences, participants will share together and explore practices intended to identify biases and reshape attitudes and actions with the goal of transformational growth. Media will include video, PDF documents, and Zoom conference calls. Participants will engage videos and print materials prior to each session including workbooks from Diversity 2 Inclusion.
Leadership will be provided by Joshua Brockway, co-coordinator of Discipleship Ministries, and Jessica Oladapo, founder of Diversity 2 Inclusion, an organization that seeks to foster greater inclusion in society, workplaces, and everyday lives through professional development sessions, team development workshops, and one-on-one coaching. Oladapo is a professor of sociology and holds degrees in psychology and sociology from the University of Illinois at Chicago, Lewis University, and DePaul University.
Find more information and register at www.brethren.org/discipleshipmin/discipling-our-imagination.
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