The Rev. Shanea D. Leonard, director of the Presbyterian Mission Agency’s Racial Equity & Women’s Intercultural Ministries (RE&WIM), has been doing the work of dismantling oppressive systems for more than two decades.
In their work they found that this requires white people teaching and facilitating white people. The hard conversations and unfiltered truths that come from fully embodying this work is often a lighter burden when white people are doing this self-work together without the emotional labor of their Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) siblings.
Leonard’s discovery led to the formation of the White Ally Network — a working title — which met last week for the first time in Charlotte, North Carolina.
For people and congregations wondering how to get started in their push for justice for people of color, women and the queer community, “A Matter of Faith: A Presby Podcast” featured the perfect guest last week: Samantha Davis, the associate for Gender, Racial and Intercultural Justice in the Presbyterian Mission Agency’s Racial Equity & Women’s Intercultural Ministries.
In a conversation recorded earlier and aired on Monday during the Juneteenth celebration, the Rev. Michael Lynn Moore, intercultural associate for Racial Equity & Women’s Intercultural Ministries, welcomed four panelists for an online discussion on “Forty Acres, No Mule: A Conversation of Black Presbyterian Leaders on Congregational Stability and Church Financial Reimagination.” Watch their hour-long discussion here.
Radical welcome, defined as “the spiritual practice of embracing and being changed by the gifts, presence, voices and power of The Other: the people systemically cast out or marginalized within a church, denomination and/or society,” was the focus of a recent webinar put on by the Presbyterian Mission Agency’s Office of Gender, Racial & Intercultural Justice. Watch the hourlong webinar hosted by Samantha Davis, Associate for Gender, Racial & Intercultural Justice, by going here.
Racial Equity & Women’s Intercultural Ministries has organized a Juneteenth conversation between pastors and denominational leaders about the status and stability of Black Presbyterian churches in the wake of Covid. The conversation will be pre-recorded and then shown online beginning at noon Eastern Time on June 19, Juneteenth, on the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Facebook page.
Young delegates to this month’s 67th Commission on the Status of Women called the opportunity “an awesome privilege” and “memorable” in reflections completed on behalf of the ministry area that supported their time in New York City, Racial Equity & Women’s Intercultural Ministries.
The 2023 Celebrate the Gifts of Women worship service took place on Wednesday and was streamed on the main PC(USA) Facebook page. A joint effort by Presbyterian Women and Racial Equity & Women’s Intercultural Ministries, the service can be viewed here.
A new virtual Bible study, launched on Feb. 1 by Racial Equity and Women’s Intercultural Ministries to celebrate Black History Month, continues through mid-March with an outstanding roster of presenters. The series, called “Models of Black Resistance Past and Present,” will be hosted on Zoom with advance registration required.
Dr. Thema Bryant, a clinical psychologist and a pastor in the African Methodist Episcopal Church, is quoted as saying: “Rest is revolutionary. Self-care and community care are soul food. Dancing and singing amid everything that pulls you to disconnect from yourself is radical.”
Racial Equity and Women’s Intercultural Ministries is launching a new virtual Bible study to celebrate Black History Month. The series is called “Models of Black Resistance Past and Present” and will stream on the RE&WIM Facebook page at 5 p.m. Eastern Time each Wednesday from February 1 through March 15.
