As a part of The Episcopal Church’s long-term commitment to racial healing, reconciliation, and justice, our parish will embark upon a ten-session program titled Sacred Ground. The series is designed to invite and support deeper conversations about race within our own faith community by creating a forum for thoughtful reflection and sharing stories. And hopefully through this process, we will make deeper connections with fellow parishioners. To help judge if the series will be of interest to you, previews for some of the videos are provided here.
The series will begin with an initial informational session via Zoom on Wednesday, September 2nd at 6:00 pm. After the initial meeting, we will divide into small groups (8-10 people). We plan to conduct the first four (of the ten) sessions before the end of the year. The initial sessions are scheduled for: September 7th, October 5th, November 2nd, and November 30th.
To register for this series please email Victoria at the church office. Victoria will then send you a link for the informational Zoom call on September 2nd, as well as the link and password for all of the course materials for the Sacred Ground series. The first assignment of the program will be to watch the film American Creed (90 min.) in advance of the first meeting on September 7th.
While the series is largely film-based followed by discussion, there are some readings assigned to each session as well. There are also two core books assigned to the course: Jesus and the Disinherited by Howard Thurman, and Waking Up White, and Finding Myself in the Story of Race by Debby Irving. The readings are spread out over the length of the course.
As one can discern, this series has quite a bit more substance than our usual adult education offerings. And while the time commitment is greater—the program provides opportunities for timely conversations about race and faith. It is my hope that a significant number of parishioners will elect to join the Sacred Ground conversation.
I look forward to our journey together!
Blessings,
Fr. Eric+
