wfn.org | Racism in church communication panel set for RCCongress 2010

[Worldwide Faith News <wfn@igc.org>]

Racism in church communication? Two Mennonites will address -
Thursday, October 08, 2009

ELKHART, Ind. (Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary/Mennonite
Mission Network) ? Two Mennonite presenters will offer insights into
their journeys with anti-racist communication during a
once-in-a-decade event for faith-based communicators.

Religion Communication Congress 2010, which has met every 10 years
since 1970, will take place in Chicago, Ill., from April 7-10, 2010.

Nekeisha Alexis-Baker, graphic designer for Associated Mennonite
Biblical Seminary, and Ryan Miller, editorial director for Mennonite
Mission Network, will offer a workshop on ?Shared Voices:
Communicating in Anti-Racist Ways.? Alexis-Baker led the development
of anti-racism communication guidelines for Mennonite Mission Network
during her three years with the organization.

Both presenters will share how those guidelines, and the process of
creating and implementing them, have changed their work and their  perspectives.

?As a person of color,? Alexis-Baker said, ?I know how it feels to be
misrepresented, underrepresented or simply ignored in the media and
it?s particularly disappointing when that media is being created in
the church. So it has been a blessing and a privilege to help create a
process that takes racial justice and anti-racist practices seriously.
My role as a communicator would definitely suffer otherwise.?

Anti-racist communication is, at its heart, an ongoing process of
open, honest conversation about power dynamics expressed in words and
images, the presenters said.

"Our guidelines are important," Miller said, "but equally important is
how our commitment to analyzing and discussing our work has led to
more and more conversations about how racism injures all of us and how
we can act to combat it."

Copies of Shared Voices, Anti-racism communication guidelines for
Mennonite Mission Network, are available through Third Way Media?s
online store (store.thirdwaymedia.org). Limited copies are available;
a second edition revision is underway.

Religion Communication Congress gathers around 1,000 communication
professionals from around the world and all media disciplines. It is
planned as an interfaith event including Christian, Jewish, Muslim,
Baha?i and Hindu faiths, among others. The April 2010 event will
include 14 global partners, including Cameroon, China, Cuba, Egypt,
Kenya, Peru and Togo.

Keynote speakers or entertainers include Martin Marty, longtime
Christian Century columnist; Stewart Hoover, Church of the Brethren
professor of communications at University of Colorado, Boulder;
Jeffrey Cole, director of the Center for the Digital Future,
University of Southern California Annenberg School for Communication;
Diana Eck, professor of comparative religion and Indian studies at
Harvard University; and Ken Medema, musician/songwriter.

Past headline speakers have included Bill Moyers, Al Gore and Jesse
Jackson. This year?s headliners have not yet been announced.

Mennonite Church USA is one of the cooperating organizations for this
event. Melodie Davis, staff writer for Third Way Media, and Ron Byler,
associate executive director of Mennonite Church USA have represented
Mennonites on the planning committee. Both attended the congresses in
1980, 1990 and 2000.

Anabaptist Communicators also plan a caucus during the Congress.

More information can be found at www.rccongress2010.org.