news article

INR continues

November 19, 2019 / By Blenda Smith

The Conference Commission on Religion and Race (CCORR) is excited to share the results of a busy summer! We worked with the General Commission on Religion and Race (GCORR) to revise the Imagine No Racism (INR) curriculum to reflect the excellent evaluations and feedback of those who experienced INR in 2018.

All clergy are expected to complete the full six weeks of the INR curriculum, and many did this last year. If you were unable to attend INR then, you are in luck. Earlier this fall, we led seven train-the-trainer events all around Upper New York, and now have 43 facilitators from all 12 Districts who are available to lead groups.

To get started, notify your district office. District Superintendents and Administrative Assistants will work with CCORR leaders to create a group for you. If you have a group already, call your District office and we’ll do our best to find a facilitator for your group. Of course, logistics of schedules and geography may take some time to work out soo please be patient with us.

Laity are encouraged to experience INR as well. A local church clergy/laity team that experienced INR is a great way to bring INR back to the local church. The ultimate goal of Imagine No Racism is to open local church members’ hearts and minds to systemic racism and white privilege so that outreach ministries reflect the values of imagining no racism.

The revised curriculum guides for participants and facilitators, videos used in the curriculum, and other resources are on the Upper New York website under CCORR and INR; click here to obtain them. Wherever a local church finds itself in the process of imagining no racism, the “Comprehensive Anti-Racism Resources” has many items to use in introducing the concept of privilege and racism.

In all we do as United Methodists, let us honor our baptismal vow to “accept the freedom and power God gives you to resist evil, injustice, and oppression in whatever forms they present themselves.”