Snapshots of Thriving

Three Congregations Model Beloved Community Through Reparations Forum

Last month, three United Methodist Churches worked across racial and District (geographic) lines to demonstrate the transformative power of building Beloved Community through a forum on Faith and Reparations. The collaboration by Buena Vista UMC (a historically Japanese-American church in Alameda), Easter Hill UMC (a historically Black church in Richmond), and Epworth UMC (an intentionally multiracial church in a historically racially exclusive white neighborhood in Berkeley), brought together 60 participants from eight churches in a sacred convergence of diverse and interconnected faith journeys.

Rev. Dr. Dale Weatherspoon (Pastor of Easter Hill) grounded the gathering in Paragraph 3335 of the 2024 Book of Resolutions, which establishes repair and reconciliation as core practices of Christian discipleship and directs local congregations to participate in studies on reparations in their local area. Michael Martin (lay member at Epworth) further contextualized the historic and ongoing harms of racism for which the Church is called to repent and the need for repair. 

Donald K. Tamaki (Buena Vista) shared his experience as a member of the California Reparations Task Force, which released its historic Final Report that contains over 100 policy recommendations addressing historical harms to African Americans. Highlighting the intersectionality of the Japanese redress movement with reparations for African Americans, his multimedia presentation makes the case that non-Black communities need to support Black reparations: “Specifically, while the incarceration of Japanese Americans was terrible in and of itself, it was merely a subchapter in a racial pathology that began long before… [and enabled] the institution of slavery for 246 years, Jim Crow for another 100 years, and the systems of discrimination in the decades that followed.”

Moving from theoretical discussion to faithful action, the forum equipped participants with both space for authentic dialogue and concrete ways to take action. In small group breakout discussions, participants considered what authentic repair looks like, as well as how our racial and cultural backgrounds influence our understanding. The forum also equipped participants with concrete steps toward political engagement through a resource guide and template letters and phone call scripts advocating for reparations-related legislation. This integration of spiritual practice and civic engagement demonstrates how thriving communities understand that faith and justice are not separate spheres but integrated aspects of discipleship.

The three congregations’ goals of the forum went beyond education to an ongoing commitment to collaboration. We plan to continue building relationships across our diverse faith communities, developing networks for sustained political action, and modeling how churches can engage reparations not merely as a policy issue, but as a spiritual practice central to our discipleship and vital to building Beloved Community.

Continue the Conversation:

• Watch the full presentation: The recording of the entire forum is available on Easter Hill UMC's YouTube channel. The presentation begins at timestamp 9:54, Don Tamaki’s keynote begins at 54:00, the report backs begin at 2:30:00, and the closing remarks by Rev. Michael Yoshii begin at 3:09:24.

• Resource Guide: Access a comprehensive resource guide for further study and legislative advocacy here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1A3gzb_D3R2LLUyd7gNMlYiuMT9Vcs7s1MnOqYyU5eGA/edit?usp=sharing

• Take Action: The Alliance for Reparations, Reconciliation, and Truth is a multi-racial, multi-sector alliance advancing reparations in California. Subscribe to receive action alerts: http://eepurl.com/iEazM2