At a time when ELCA Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton is asking congregations to have conversations about race, Women of the ELCA has released three resources that can help.
The resources include “How to have helpful conversations about race in the church”; a Bible study, “Listening to the third slave”; and a historical timeline.
Written by Inez Torres Davis, director for justice for Women of the ELCA, the resources are available for free download from womenoftheelca.org/racialjustice.
“How to have a helpful conversation about race in the church” offers an entryway for congregations to get started on talking about race. It includes a glossary of definitions common among anti-racism practitioners and racial justice advocates. “Listening to the third slave” takes a fresh look at the parable of the talents/10 pounds in Matthew and Luke. The historical timeline details racism beginning in 1452, with the Doctrine of Discovery that unleashed a European conquest on indigenous peoples.
An anti-racism Bible study written by Torres Davis in 2002, “The Story of Peter & Cornelius” has been updated.
Women of the ELCA held its first anti-racism training retreat in April 1997. After almost 20 years of learning and sharing ways of addressing racism and White privilege, Davis is set to release a new version of “Today’s Dream: Tomorrow Reality” (TDTR), a three-part anti-racism curriculum. The curriculum is being field tested in preparation for a release at a Kansas City Women of the ELCA retreat.
Much of the content on Women of the ELCA’s new racial justice advocacy web page is from the TDTR curriculum.
Contact Inez Torres Davis for more information.