05/29/2019
By Pete Crow
What do you do when you find yourself living in the midst of a grievous wrong that you did not commit? A wrong that, against all that you may wish, has become part of the foundation of who you are? Not just your own house of being but many other houses as well? Your school, your office, your government, your church.
Beginning in the fall, Church of the Nativity will offer an opportunity of prayerful learning and small-group dialogue around our nation’s long record of racial and ethnic injustice, a record some of us are privileged to ignore, but none of us is privileged to escape. The ten-part series examines ideas such as whiteness, melting pot, racism, and the American Dream. It looks again at American history, but through the lens of indigenous Americans, African-Americans, Asian-Americans, Latinos. Throughout, the series emphasizes personal story-sharing and deepening relationships among the participants. Most importantly, the series is a journey, one that begins with “Stepping Onto Sacred Ground” and ends with “Becoming Beloved Community.”
The series was developed by the Episcopal Church as part of Presiding Bishop Michael Curry’s focus on Becoming Beloved Community. The lead researcher and organizer is acclaimed documentarian Katrina Browne, producer of Traces of the Trade: A Story from the Deep North.
If you are interested in participating in this series at Nativity or have questions, contact Beth Crow <mary.crow@me.com> or Becky Showalter <jbshow@bellsouth.net>. We anticipate the group will meet twice a month on a weekday evening. More information will be forthcoming in the fall. For now, we are alerting the parish of the opportunity and gauging interest.