Moving From Talk to Action: Training for Anti-Racist White People in the MA Conference

Racism is not a thing of the past. It continues to permeate our institutions, granting unearned advantages to white people, creating inequities for people of color, and dehumanizing everyone. Now, as always, it is critically important that white people join people of color in naming and confronting racism in all its forms ~ personal, interpersonal, cultural, and institutional.

The 2011 Annual Meeting of the Mass Conference, UCC called on all churches to be proactive in learning about and taking action against racism. This training is a response to that call. It is meant for white people who would like to deepen their commitment and skills in challenging racism and white privilege, and to move their own congregations forward on these issues. This workshop is designed as a supplement to, not a replacement for, multi-racial contexts where people of diverse races strategize together about how racism can be challenged and dismantled. We welcome both lay people and clergy.

Allies for Change, a nationally recognized network of anti-oppression educators, will guide us in this training. Participants will do some deep, soul-stretching work and connect with other white people committed to racial justice. We encourage you to come with a team-mate from your church or local area. We ask that participants agree not only to be part of initiatives in their own congregations, but also to be available to assist at least one other congregation. Ongoing support will be provided.

Workshop hours are 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday, Feb. 10, and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 11. The cost for this workshop is $50 per participant, which includes all meals. Limited rooms at the Walker Center are available for an additional $30. Please register and pay online by February 1, 2012. If you prefer, you may mail a check made out to MACUCC for $50 for the workshop, or $80 for the workshop plus lodging, with "Anti-Racism Training" in the memo, and include your name, address, phone number, email, church name and town. Send to: MACUCC, 1 Badger Rd., Framingham, MA 01702 Att: Karen Methot.

A maximum of three participants per church, please.

Click here for a downloadable flyer with workshop description and workshop leader bios. For more information, contact Russ Vernon-Jones at russvj@gmail.com

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