Webinar seeks to assist congregations’ anti-racism efforts
Advertisement
Read this article for free:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
To continue reading, please subscribe:
Digital Subscription
One year of digital access for only $205*
- Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
- Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
- Access News Break, our award-winning app
- Play interactive puzzles
*First annual payment billed as $205.00 + GST for one year. This annual subscription will automatically renew at $233.00 + GST every 52 weeks (10% off the regular annual price of $259.35). Offer available to new and qualified returning subscribers only. Cancel any time.
To continue reading, please subscribe:
Add Free Press access to your Brandon Sun subscription for only an additional
$1 for the first 4 weeks*
- Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
- Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
- Access News Break, our award-winning app
- Play interactive puzzles
*Your next Brandon Sun subscription payment will increase by $1.00 and you will be charged $17.95 plus GST for four weeks. After four weeks, your payment will increase to $24.95 plus GST every four weeks.
Read unlimited articles for free today:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 22/02/2022 (1683 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
What does it mean for a church to be intentionally anti-racist? That’s the question being asked by the Manitoba and Northwest Ontario Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada.
Held as part of Black History Month, and with support from the Anglican Diocese of Rupert’s Land, the webinar Feb. 26 will feature United Church of Canada general secretary Michael Blair.
“Churches have a tendency to make theological statements about racism and name it as a sin,” said Blair, who is Black. “But then it often stops there.”
If congregations really want to be intentional about dealing with racism, they need to “move beyond statement to lament, repentance and reconciliation.”
Churches can’t really say they are taking racism seriously “until they make that shift,” he added.
Becoming anti-racist will require congregations to learn about the history and experience of racialized people, Blair said, along with understanding the systemic barriers that prevent them from realizing their full God-given potential.
Being intentional about dealing with racism also requires churches to examine how Christianity has been proclaimed through a white lens. This includes looking at how they use of images and language — pictures of a white Jesus in their buildings, or how they use words like “white” for good and “dark” meaning bad in songs and liturgy.
It also means examining how they describe people in the developing world as only “poor and needy” when raising funds for relief and development work. “This suggests they are not fully human,” Blair said.
Doing this work will be uncomfortable, he said, but it is critical if churches will be welcoming to racialized Canadians.
“Racialized people can smell an unsafe space,” he said. Making spaces welcome will require commitment and “building relationships of grace.”
Bishop Jason Zinko said the webinar is a way to “encourage people to dig into the issue and understand our faith pushes us to be anti-racist.”
“The church has been pretty insular for a long time,” he said, acknowledging the Synod, with its Scandinavian and Germanic heritage, is “one of the whiter denominations in the province.”
“For too long, we cared more about attendance and finances. Our faith demands more of us,” he said, adding: “We want to get away from our ethnic roots.”
His hope is the denomination, with 54 congregations and 11,000 members, can “engage difference in a positive way” and see “our faith supports anti-racism work and including different voices.”
People from every church are welcome at the free webinar. It is part of a series of events hosted by the Synod, called “Faith in Context.”
The webinar runs from 9:30 a.m. to noon on Zoom. Advance registration is required (wfp.to/QuT).
faith@freepress.mb.ca
The Free Press is committed to covering faith in Manitoba through our Religion in the News project. This reporting continues because readers like you step forward to fund it.
Donate now to support our reporting on religion.
Your donation is eligible for a charitable tax receipt.
BECOME A FAITH JOURNALISM SUPPORTER
Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber.
Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
The Free Press is committed to covering faith in Manitoba through our Religion in the News project. This reporting continues because readers like you step forward to fund it.
Donate now to support our reporting on religion.
Your donation is eligible for a charitable tax receipt.
BECOME A FAITH JOURNALISM SUPPORTER
Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber.
Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
Advertisement Advertise With Us
The Free Press acknowledges the financial support it receives from members of the city’s faith community, which makes our coverage of religion possible.
