wfn.org | Anti-racism training spreading through church

["Office of Communications"<wshuffit@oc.disciples.org>]

Date: June 23, 2000
Disciples News Service
Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
Contact: Clifford L. Willis
E-mail: CWillis@oc.disciples.org
on the Web: http://www.disciples.org

00a-33

	INDIANAPOLIS (DNS) -- By the end of July, nearly 300 Disciples will have 
participated in at least a two-and-a-half day session of anti-racism 
training. That number includes most regional ministers, most general unit 
presidents and representatives of other Disciples-related institutions.

	In July, 90 more people will participate in the introductory training 
session. Among the participants are 20 members of the Administrative 
Committee, the cabinet of the Christian Board of Publication and 
representatives of 12 new Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) entities 
who are interested in proceeding to the next training levels. The July 
training session is in Indianapolis. The 12 new entities include nine 
regions, two seminaries and a general unit.

	Kathy Jeffries, Nashville, Tenn., vice president, International Christian 
Women's Fellowship, was a little guarded as she approached the training. 
"There was a sense of ‘oh no, we're going to tackle it again," she said. 
But the methodology of Crossroads, the training organization working with 
the church, draws trainees beyond repenting of personal prejudices. It 
teaches that racism is race prejudice plus the abuse of institutional 
power. 

	"Just hearing an in-depth analysis of racism going throughout the history 
of our country and tying it all together, (and) explaining institutional 
racism and how it pervades our society . . . explains some things I didn't 
understand even as a person of color," Jeffries said. 

	According to General Minister and President Richard L. Hamm, anti-racism 
training is changing the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). "While we 
all recognize that the church has a long way to go in the struggle against 
racism, I have been very gratified to see that those who have undergone 
the anti-racism training have begun to ask questions about how we do our 
work as a church. Specifically, I have heard personnel policies more 
closely scrutinized and I have heard calls for more inclusive committees 
and boards so that we as a church can become truly inclusive and 
anti-racist. ‘Anti-racism' is beginning to be understood as a positive 
phrase rather than a negative phrase. These are hopeful signs," said the 
GMP. 

	In 1999, seven teams completed training and began the work of dismantling 
racism in their own institutions. In 2000, nine teams have gone through 
ten-and-a-half days of training in preparation for combating systemic 
racism in their areas of the church. 

	The last of the training sessions, a four-and-a-half day event, focuses 
on building the skills of team members for organizational change and 
long-range planning. It equips participants to apply and expand the 
analysis of systemic racism into a plan of action for institutional 
change.

	"Racism hurts everyone, not just people of color. Racism is a sin, it's 
against God's plan and it divides God's people. And as Christians we are 
really obliged to fight it," Jeffries said.

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