The week-long festivities celebrating the investiture of Stillman College’s eighth president, Dr. Yolanda W. Page, were capped off Friday with a ceremonial event that felt more like a church service.
As attendees prepared for the final morning of the Matthew 25 Summit at New Life Presbyterian Church in South Fulton, members of The Many, the conference’s vocal instrumental group in residence, led those gathered Thursday in a time of centering, communal prayer.
The online weekly Chapel Service held most Wednesdays by and for the national staff of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) had three observances to mark: Monday’s birthday celebration of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Matthew 25: Dismantle Structural Racism Sunday as well as Racial & Intercultural Justice/Presbyterians Affirm Black Lives Matter Sunday.
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.
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.
When the Rev. Shanea D. Leonard was named the director of Racial Equity & Women’s Intercultural Ministries at the Presbyterian Mission Agency last October, they were well aware that big changes were on the horizon for the ministry area.
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.”
The Presbyterian Mission Agency has released new resources to help promote LGBTQIA+ inclusion and understanding within the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) as well as anywhere that individuals or families may be seeking answers about issues related to inclusion and diversity.
Nearly 50 Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) national staff gathered online Wednesday to remember and honor the lives of at least 30 transgender people killed so far this year during a Transgender Day of Remembrance service. The Rev. Shanea Leonard, director of Racial Equity & Women’s Intercultural Ministries, led the service, hosted by RE&WIM and the Office of Gender & Racial Justice.
