news article

Imagine No Racism initiative launches April 21, 2018

March 19, 2018 / By Upper New York Communications Team

Imagine No Racism (INR) is a ministry of the Upper New York Conference, in response to the Call to Action Resolution of the Northeastern Jurisdiction in July of 2016, to engage in the work of eliminating racism. INR seeks to raise consciousness and increase conversation and ministry at the local church level through a multi-year, small group approach. The goal of INR is to increase conversations on and awareness of racism and white privilege at the district and local church levels and to increase the number of ministries which impact racial justice within local churches and their surrounding communities.

Imagine No Racism will convene multiple District-level small groups, consisting of both clergy and laity, to engage in deep listening, transformative study, and meaningful action to eliminate racism and white privilege in individuals, local churches, and the communities the local churches serve.

Each District will be served by three or four District Advocates, trained by the General Commission on Religion and Race (GCORR), who will oversee and resource the small groups within their District. The District Advocates will be connected and served by part-time paid Regional Coordinators, who will care for three Districts each, and work to collect data for assessment of the INR ministry. The Upper New York Conference Commission on Religion and Race (CCORR) and the Connectional Ministries Office, overseen by the Director of Connectional Ministries, will supervise the work of the Regional Coordinators and the Imagine No Racism ministry.

Launch Day

Within each of the Upper NY Conference’s 12 Districts, clergy and laity will meet in small groups once or twice a month. These small groups will be formed at a Conference-wide launch day, to be held on April 21, 2018 from 12:30-4 p.m.in each District, at the Districts’ Communication Hubs. Click here to see the District Communication Hub locations.

Each District is asked to prepare nametags for all participants that are color-coded by district regions to facilitate the formation of small groups. District Advocates will have all copies of all materials (including videos) on a flash drive from the Upper NY Conference office.

The goal of the Launch Day event is to give all participants a clear overview of the INR ministry purpose and structure, and to form the small groups within each district where the work of INR will take place. The event will include:

• Opening worship
• Welcome by Upper New York Area Resident Bishop Mark J. Webb, livestreamed from the United Methodist Center
• Reference to the NEJ Call to Action
• Explanation and formation of small groups
• Small group meetings with District Advocates
• Videos presentations by members of the Bishop’s Taskforce on Eliminating Racism, followed by discussion
• Video by Teressa Sivers, chair of the Bishop’s Taskforce on Eliminating Racism and the Rev. Dr. Aaron Bouwens on the Wesleyan Covenant and INR Covenant
• Signing of the INR Covenant

Moving Forward

After the formation of the small groups on April 21, every small group will meet at least monthly to engage in a curriculum designed in partnership with GCORR. The first six weeks of the curriculum is designed to guide the small groups through deep listening and transformative study regarding racism and white privilege, with attention to our theological understanding of baptism and our call to make disciples for the transformation of the world.

The small groups are intended to be an ongoing ministry, moving from deep learning and transformative study, through naming racism in their local church and context, to purposeful action in the local church and wider community.

The work of eliminating racism, personally and systemically, is much like moving through the stages of grief. Though the goal is to continually be moving into action, many times individuals and small groups will need to pause to return to deep listening, transformative study, and naming racism and white privilege.

Throughout the process, the Conference will assess the work of INR through the number of small groups and individual participants, the number of intentional ministries within the local churches started by the district small INR groups, and the number of local church and community ministries that impact racial justice. This material will be collected through the District Advocates, Regional Coordinators, and CCORR. The small groups are also designed to act as a support group for the laity and clergy members as they move into action in their local church and community.

INR will utilize the reporting of District Advocates and Regional Coordinators, and church Conference forms and pastor one-on-one meetings with their District Superintendents. CCORR will assess the progression of this data at 6 months, 1 year, 18 months, 2 year, and then yearly going forward.