The Standing with People of Color Committee put in place by the Church of the Brethren Annual Conference in 2022 is laying groundwork for the denomination to engage issues of race for a decade into the future.
Annual Conference in 2022 declared: “We recognize the struggles faced by many of our sisters and brothers of color and believe the church should be agents of change. We encourage congregations, districts, agencies, and other denominational entities to continue to follow the teachings of Jesus by living out the great commandment of loving our neighbor as ourselves. We understand the great diversity that the word neighbor implies. So, we encourage congregations to study the teachings of Jesus and how they apply to our relationships with all people of color, to express solidarity with all people of color, offer sanctuary from all forms of violence, and identify and dismantle racism and other oppressions in ourselves and our institutions, and then begin to live out those findings by being Jesus in the neighborhood.”
The Standing with People of Color Committee has been working to provide resources to help the church respond to that challenge. You can find them at www.brethren.org/swpoc.
Facilitator training
“7 Prompts” facilitator training is offered as part of the process leading into church-wide conversations around the themes of standing with people of color and working for justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion.
The seven prompts are designed to encourage conversations in triads or other small groups, beginning with a simple question and moving through the seven prompts to more challenging conversations. There have been numerous events where these seven prompts have been used and the feedback from these events has been very positive and encouraging. The prompts also can be used one at a time in family, church, Sunday school, youth group, and other settings.
While it is not necessary for facilitators of these conversations to have training, the committee believes a training experience is valuable. Several trainings were offered in 2023 and there are two additional training events coming up in January, to be held online:
— Thursday, Jan. 11, 7:30-9:30 p.m. (Eastern time)
— Saturday, Jan. 27, 1-3 p.m. (Eastern time)
Register at www.onearthpeace.org/2024_01_11_swpoc_7_prompts_facilitator_training. Read more at www.brethren.org/news/2023/facilitator-training-for-conversations.
— Contributors to this article include Bruce Rosenberger of the Standing with People of Color Committee and Joshua Brockway of the Discipleship and Leadership Formation staff of the Church of the Brethren. Contact the committee via email at StandingWithPeopleofColor@brethren.org.
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