Truth and Racial Reckoning in 2022

Originally formed by a call from Pastor Kristin after the murder of George Floyd, the Truth and Racial Reckoning Working Group began meeting August 2020, and continues to meet bi-monthly, with a core group of about 15 members. We were originally a history group, seeking to understand how we became a predominantly white church in a mostly white neighborhood. We recently produced a document summarizing the history we have culled, which you can read here.

We are currently working on an archives project which details Epworth’s engagement with social and racial justice projects over the years. Understanding the embedded racism in our legacy informs our sense of what it means to repair and offer reparations as a church body. Our group is now in the preliminary phases of this exploration. We need to know what is being repented for and repaired in order to define what reparations would look like.

Our next meeting is Wednesday, February 2, from 4-5:30 PM on Zoom. Our Guest speaker is Janet Katari, friend of Epworth who recently compete her M.Div. She has been leading a Racial Justice group for the past year and a half and is involved in a group working on reparations within the Sierra Pacific Synod of the Evangelical Luthern Church in America (ELCA).

If you are interested, please contact Kim Hraca or the church office for the zoom meeting link.