Beloved Community
The Episcopal Diocese of Spokane’s Beloved Community Working Group supports individuals, congregations, and the diocese to work toward Becoming the Beloved Community within and beyond our worshipping communities. We gather and disperse resources and communicate opportunities to learn, build relationships, and commitment to action on behalf of Jesus Christ in the area of racial justice and reconciliation.
Upcoming Zoom Book Groups!
How Western Christianity Got It Wrong
Picture communities where creation is family, not commodity. Where healing happens through relationship, not transaction. Where Creator speaks through many voices and welcomes all who walk in love. This is the Jesus Way as it was meant to be.
Thursday Series at 10:00am via Zoom
September 17 Introduction
September 24 Chapters 1-3
October 1 Chapters 4-6
October 8 Chapters 7-9
October 15 Chapters 10-12
Register for this book Group HERE to receive the Zoom Link!
Mission Statement of the Beloved Community Working Group
The Episcopal Diocese of Spokane’s Beloved Community Working Group supports individuals, congregations, and the diocese to work toward Becoming the Beloved Community within and beyond our worshipping communities. We gather and disperse resources and communicate opportunities to learn, build relationships, and commitment to action on behalf of Jesus Christ in the area of racial justice and reconciliation.
Sample Mission for Individual Congregations
We deplore racism rampant in our country and in this town. We admit that St. XXXXX has been complicit in racism from its foundation until the present. We acknowledge our individual racial biases, however Christ-like our intent might be. Having inherited the sin of individual, systemic, and institutional racism, we turn to Jesus Christ for forgiveness that leads us to proactively dismantle racism. We commit to continuous learning, to building deep relationships with neighbors of color, and to dismantling racism by carrying the Beloved Community into the world.
Our Structure & Time Together
We’re accountable to the Diocese of Spokane through the Bishop’s Canon for Discipleship, Canon Andrea Oetman. There are two co-facilitators of this working group; one is Rick Matters and the other is Bill Osborne. We normally meet via zoom on the fourth Tuesday of each month, at 7:00pm. Request further information from Rick or Andrea.
Our meetings normally include… projects or programs to support individuals and congregations, learning moments during the meeting, collecting and disseminating opportunities for learning and action. We generally use the structure recommended by Jamar Tisby of ARC of Racial Justice as an acronym standing for: 1. Awareness, 2. Relationships, 3. Commitment to Action
Sacred Ground Circles
Sacred Ground is a film- and readings-based dialogue series on race, grounded in Christian faith. Small groups are invited to walk through chapters of America’s history of race and racism while weaving in threads of family story, economic class, and political and regional identity. This pilgrimage of ten gatherings allows participants to discover deeply how to love as Jesus loves. Information and registration in the opportunity listed below.
*Contact Rick Matters to learn about Sacred Ground Circles being offered.
General Resources
Sacred Ground Circles
The Bishop and Diocesan Council Prioritized as many members of our Diocese participating in the Sacred Ground Curriculum, published by The Episcopal Church. The Beloved Community offers several series (see the time sensitive opportunities above for dates and information). The curriculum is open to any group.
Anti-Racism Godly Play
Here is the link to the new anti-racism Godly Play curriculum – https://www.tellmethetruthaboutracism.org/
The Next Question (Conversations on the Real Topics of Race and Justice)
Watch this series by Austin Channing Brown which is highly recommend to give grounded hope and expanded awareness to the incredible creativity that exists, particularly from black women, to imagine new systems and structures to truly support all communities.
My Work to Do (White Affinity Groups Centering on Various Topics)
Join a white affinity group around specific topics at My Work to Do program as a great next step in learning and formation after Sacred Ground.
Books on Racial Equity in the Church by Authors of Color:
· Acts, by Willie James Jennings in Belief: A theological Commentary on the Bible
· American Indian Liberation: A Theology of Sovereignty, by “Think” George E. Tinker
· How to Fight Racism: Courageous Christianity and the Journey toward Racial Justice, by Jemar Tisby. Plus a separate study guide for ten sessions using this book.
· Living in Color: Embracing God’s Passion for Ethnic Diversity, by Randy S. Woodley
· Rescuing the Gospel from the Cowboys: A Native American Expression of the Jesus Way, buy Richard Twiss
· Subversive Witness: Scripture’s Call to Leverage Privilege, by Dominique DuBois Gilliard
· Shalom and the Community of Creation: An Indigenous Vision, by Randy S. Woodley
· The Land is Not Empty: Following Jesus in Dismantling the Doctrine of Discovery, by Sarah Augustine
· The Christian Imagination: Theology and the Origins of Race, by Willie James Jennings
· The Four Vision Quests of Jesus, by Steven Charleston