In 2021, we turned our attention to the Sacred Ground curriculum provided by the Episcopal Church. In a series of ten meetings, we discussed the sets of documentaries and readings that “focus on Indigenous, Black, Latino, and Asian/Pacific American histories as they intersect with European American histories.” As part of this curriculum, we read Howard Thurman’s Jesus and the Disinherited, as well as Waking Up White: And Finding Myself in the Story of Race by Debby Irving. We recommend these books to you as good starting places for spiritual and informational resources on structural racism.
The Sacred Ground curriculum is part of the Episcopal Church’s program – Becoming Beloved Community (BBC) which 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.” During Advent compline services, we used excerpts from the Advent liturgies provided by BBC.
Also during Advent, some of us read and discussed the New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander. We were enlightened, heartbroken and enraged by what we read, and it motivated us to act.
We are currently exploring our next steps, as we seek to turn our education into action. We are looking at the MA Diocesan toolkit on reparations, as well as a showing of Traces of the Trade or following another program. We may also encourage the use of more of the BBC liturgies.
We invite you to join us. Please contact Becky Snow.