Anti Racism Activist Group: Church of the Servant By: Jessica pinto

Who Are They? In 2000, members of Church of the Servant began a focused effort to discern how we can become an antiracist church. With the council’s endorsement, an antiracism team of nearly 20 Church of the Servant members began reflecting on this theme, setting goals, and finding ways to promote antiracism and reconciliation in all areas of the church’s life.

Solutions Understanding Racism Workshop Working in partnership with two other local Christian Reformed congregations — Coit Community Church and Madison Square CRC — we developed the Understanding Racism Workshop to raise awareness and help participants organize for racial reconciliation. The workshop is offered regularly and is led by two trained facilitators, Janice McWhertor from COS and Laura Carpenter from Madison Square.

Goals The goals of the workshop are: To see and experience racism in a new and redemptive way To gain insights into systemic racism through the eyes of faith and scripture To see more of the connections between history and contemporary race relations To identify organizing opportunities to eliminate racism, both causes and effects, within the body of believers and throughout the world

Mission & Vision Vision Statement: Church of the Servant strives to be an antiracist and multiethnic community of faith in Christ that intentionally recognizes, exposes and dismantles racism in all its forms. Mission Statement: As a community of believers, we will address the connections between contemporary issues and the history of racism in our country, community and congregation recognize, expose and dismantle racism and its impact in our congregation in new and redemptive ways oppose racism in and beyond our congregation through the eyes of faith and scripture become an antiracist multiracial community, equally honoring every person and proclaiming each precious in Christ.

WHEREAS, racism is rooted in a belief of the superiority of whiteness and bestows benefits, unearned rights, rewards, opportunities, advantages, access, and privilege on Europeans and European descendants; and WHEREAS, the reactions of people of color to racism are internalized through destructive patterns of feelings and behaviors impacting their physical, emotional, and mental health and their spiritual and familial relationships; and WHEREAS, through institutionalized racism, laws, customs, traditions, and practices systemically foster inequalities; THEREFORE LET IT BE RESOLVED, that the United Church of Christ is called to be an antiracist church and that we encourage all Conferences and Associations and local churches of the United Church of Christ to adopt anti-racism mandates, including policy that encourages anti-racism programs for all United Church of Christ staff and volunteers; and LET IT BE FURTHER RESOLVED, that Conferences and Associations and local churches facilitate programs within their churches that would examine both historic and contemporary forms of racism and its effects and that the programs be made available to the churches

Works Cited "Antiracism." Church of the Servant. Web. 06 May "Anti-Racist Church." United Church of Christ. Web. 06 May 2016.