MISSION STATEMENT:
Our mission is to listen, educate, and advocate to recognize and eliminate racism in institutions of society including our church, community, and country.
VISION STATEMENT:
We envision racial equity and justice for all God’s children.
Origin and Evolution of the Nativity Racial Equity & Justice Ministry (REJM) Team:
After the murder of Philando Castile on July 6, 2016 by St. Anthony police, the Nativity community rallied around the call to get involved. A team was created and put together an event entitled ‘Meet Me at the River’ focused on building relationships through storytelling including music, spoken word and a meal. Following that event, an outreach team called A.R.T.S. (short for Anti-Racism Team Shalom) was formed.
The initial focus of the team was to offer educational opportunities to expand understanding of the history of racism, white privilege, white supremacy, microaggressions, and implicit bias. Some of those early opportunities were:
• Monthly movie nights and conversations focused on issues facing communities of color
• Book groups covering the texts America’s Original Sin by Jim Wallis, Strength to Love by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Dear Church by Lenny Duncan and Caste by Isabel Wilkerson
• Forums with speakers from the community including the police chief and prosecutor involved in the Philando Castille case
• A trip to southern US to participate in a Civil Rights Movement trip with a focus on injustice during the Jim Crow era
Tragically George Floyd was murdered on May 25, 2020, by Minneapolis police, spurring worldwide outrage around racial injustice and police brutality. Following that horrific event, the outreach team changed its name to Nativity’s Racial Equity & Justice Ministry Team refining the mission and vision statement above.
Since then, the REJM team has continued to engage in opportunities to foster meaningful change including:
• Supported the process for the Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI) for Nativity to measure and understand where the congregation is on the issues of diversity and inclusion
• Created a social justice library in the Narthex with free reading materials available to loan within the community
• Continued to host movie screenings and facilitated conversations on topics around racial and social justice
• Partnered with Center for Leadership & Neighborhood Engagement and Redeemer Church to support people of color in our local community
Learn more about racial equity and justice issues with these suggested resources (CLICK HERE).
If you would like to join us in our effort and help change the world, fill out the form below and one of our Outreach Team leaders will contact you to follow up. Thank you.
CONTACT: Grace Gee, gracegee50@gmail.com
