As inspired members of Epworth United Methodist Church, we have something exciting to celebrate and share. Our church's multi-year journey moving from the study of reparations to taking reparative action is bearing fruit. We celebrate that as of September 2024 we have raised $86,000 for a reparations project called the Black Wealth Builder’s Fund through an innovative engagement and fundraising campaign, far surpassing our initial goal. Our intent in writing this article is to share our congregation’s journey, emphasizing that arriving at this place with the Black Wealth Builder’s Fund is the culmination of much prayer and many, many conversations within our congregation over a period of several years. We were also guided by the recommendations of the California Reparations Report. We hope our story serves as an inspiration and resource for other congregations and organizations engaged in similar processes.
Context & Background
For context, we are two white women from a multi-racial/multi-ethnic church who have been co-leading a monthly Reparations Action Group since May 2022. Our group is comprised of about 10 white members and one African American member who considers himself an advisor.
Epworth UMC at-a-glance
Membership [as of June 2024]: 350
Weekly worship attendance: 97
Established in 1952 upon the merger of Northbrae and Epworth Methodist Episcopal churches, Epworth UMC is located approximately 2 miles north of the University of California, Berkeley in the residential neighborhood of Northbrae. In June 2024, the median home sale price in the 94707 zip code exceeded $1.8 million.
While embedded in a neighborhood that was developed deliberately to exclude people of color, today Epworth UMC is an intentionally multi-racial, multi-ethnic, multi-generational, and LGBTQ+-embracing congregation.
Epworth has a multi-decade history of conversations about race and racism, including educational workshops, congregation-wide book studies, film discussions, and panel discussions about racial identity. The Reparations Action Group is the latest iteration of what began as “Truth and Racial Reckoning” that formed in May/June 2020 in the wake of George Floyd’s murder, and led to a number of short- and long-term efforts to raise Epworth’s collective racial consciousness and pursuit of justice. One of these efforts was a series of Holy Conversations on Race, Racism, and Racial Justice in the Fall of 2021. It was in these conversations that we became familiar with the Wesleyan model of Holy Conferencing, reflecting on questions together in breakout groups, often after a short presentation, while discerning the wisdom of the Holy Spirit throughout. Over the series, 18 Epworth members offered presentations or led panel discussions, while at least 90 other persons–reflecting the diversity in age, gender, and racial/ethnic background of the congregation–participated in a hybrid setting.
The Holy Conversations series culminated in the development and adoption of a racial justice mission statement in December of 2021.
Moving From Conversation To Action
The following summer in observance of Juneteenth, our congregation participated in a racial justice forum to organize ourselves around several action areas, including an anti-racism book group, a BIPOC speakers bureau, an internal DEI assessment, and the Reparations Action Group.
Our group began to meet monthly through October 2022 using the Faith and Reparations Toolkit from the Interfaith Movement for Human Integrity. We studied the historical and ongoing harms experienced by African Americans, and reflected on what reparations might look like. In late 2022, we finished the curriculum and began to pivot from a study group to an action group. We discerned that authentic, meaningful, reparative action would address racial inequalities in housing and education given Epworth’s location and core value as a teaching parish. These are also two of the areas addressed in the recommendations from the Final Report of the California Reparations Task Force, issued in June 2023. The Black Wealth Builder’s Fund emerged as a local, opportune first step towards reparations. Most appealing was the fact that the Black Wealth Builder’s Fund was established in collaboration with the Richmond Community Foundation/RCF Connects and its partners, who are well established and respected organizations with decades of experience, and whose leadership and Boards of Directors reflect the diversity of the communities they serve.
Given that we only had one group member identifying as African American, we explored how we could more fully engage our African American congregants. We decided to have one-on-one conversations with the African American members of our congregation about reparations in general as well as a possible first project. From those conversations, we heard enough support for the proposed project to move forward, and stayed in dialogue about any questions or concerns. In July 2023, we planned a congregation-wide Holy Conferencing forum on reparations, and heard resounding support to partner with the Black Wealth Builder’s Fund. (Our forum outline and handout illustrate the educational component of the forum.)
One of the key take-aways from the forum and one-on-one conversations was to go beyond a single fundraising initiative, and invite congregants to make a significant and ongoing commitment towards reparations. We decided to make the bold move of pairing a Black
Wealth Builder’s Campaign alongside the congregation’s annual fundraising/commitment campaign.
First, our Church Council approved a motion incorporating the Black Wealth Builder’s Campaign as part of the Fall Stewardship drive. Next, we collaborated with our Pastor and other key leaders over several months to develop a campaign outline that centered the theme of “abundance” and the language of “second-mile giving.” The joint campaign encouraged robust support of both the church’s annual operating budget and the Black Wealth Builder’s Fund. The announcement made on the first day of the six-week campaign oriented the congregation as to the intent, the activities, and goals of the campaign. Finally, we hosted the November 2023 congregational forum on conceptualizing significant and ongoing commitment. We also included inserts into the materials sent out during the joint campaign.
We celebrate the significant and ongoing commitment Epworth has demonstrated by the overwhelming support in partnering with the Black Wealth Builder’s Fund. The joint campaign was successful: commitments to the annual operating budget surpassed the previous year, and we exceeded the goals we set for the Black Wealth Builder’s Campaign, raising $41,525 in 2023 and $44,415 through September 2024.
We believe the success of the campaign is largely attributable to the ongoing education and conversation with a number of individuals in the congregation over time. From some of these conversations, we have come to realize how deep a hunger there is in people to offer repair for the legacies of slavery and institutional racism. Many expressed that they just didn’t know what to do, and were grateful to have the Black Wealth Builder’s Campaign offered as a concrete way to begin to take reparative action.
Another way to get an idea of our evolution is to check out the racial justice tab on Epworth United Methodist Church’s website, as well as our 2023 Ministry Report for the Reparations Action Group.
We also want to credit First Church of Cambridge for inspiring us early on in our journey. Their senior pastor and one of their parishioners met with us over Zoom in October of 2020, sharing their work and encouraging us to be ready for the long haul.
We hope this article inspires you and your congregation or organization to either support the Black Wealth Builder’s Fund, or to find the path of repair that feels true to your particular group.
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