Antiracism Ministry

The mission of the St. John’s Antiracism Ministry is to learn about past and present racial injustices and privilege in ourselves, in the Episcopal Church, and in society.  We will discern and acknowledge the injustices and privileges that have affected our Beloved Community, and we will strive to repair those breaches in justice. We are guided by our Baptismal Covenant:

“Will you persevere in resisting evil and when you fall into sin repent and return to the Lord?  Will you seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving your neighbor as yourself?  Will you strive for justice and peace among all people, and respect the dignity of every human being?

Summary St John’s Racial Injustice History Report

Massachusetts Episcopal Diocese

• Racial justice Commission Report
• The Process Toward Reparations: A Template
• Reparations 101
• The Episcopal Church and Slavery a Historical Narrative
• Reparation Resources and Suggested Reading List

National Episcopal Church

• Sacred Ground. The Sacred Ground curriculum is part of the Episcopal Church’s program – Becoming Beloved Community (BBC). It is a 10 part series of videos and readings to explore racism in the US.  The focus is on Indigenous, Black, Latino, and Asian/Pacific histories.  The initial program was designed for groups of white people talking with each other to peel back the many ways whites have harmed people of color.  A parallel program for congregations primarily of people of color or interracial congregations is being developed.
• Becoming Beloved Community is “a set of interrelated commitments around which Episcopalians may organize our many efforts to respond to racial injustice and grow a community of reconcilers, justice-makers, and healers.” https://www.episcopalchurch.org/sacred-ground/
• Racial Reconciliation

Miscellaneous

• Traces of the Trade
  One of past rectors of St. John’s Episcopal Church was DeWolfe Perry. DeWolfe Perry donated the Parish House next to the church.  he Parish house was later sold.The De Wolfe family was based in Bristol, Rhode Island. They were revered there for their philanthropy. But much of the money came from sugar and other holdings in the Caribbean worked by slaves, and the family in its early history traded slaves. A few years ago as part of a diocesan initiative on slavery and Episcopalians, St. John’s had an evening showing of an award winning film about the DeWolfe family and a discussion.  The film was Traces of the Trade.

• Cooperative Metropolitan Ministries.
• Courageous Conversations

Books of Interest

• Waking Up White: And Finding Myself in the Story of Race
  by Debby Irving
• Jesus and the Disinherited
  by Howard Thurman
• How to Be an Antiracist
  by Ibram X. Kendi
• Stamped from the Beginning
  by Ibram X. Kendi
• The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness
  by Michelle Alexander
• The Warmth of Other Sons
  by Isabel Wilkerson
• America’s Original Sin
  by Jim Wallis
• Between the World and Me
  by Ta-Nehisi Coates
• White Fragility: Why It’s so Hard for White People to Talk about Racism
  by Robin D’Angelo