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Young Adult Town Hall Meeting on Racial Equity

by | Jun 11, 2020

Power at its best is love implementing the demands of justice. Justice at its best is love correcting everything that stands against love. 

– Martin Luther King, Jr., Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community

 

As part of our collective discernment in response to God’s call to us as a diocese to engage in the work of anti-racism and social justice, I invite young adults in our congregations and alumni of our schools (ages 18-39) to participate in a Town Hall Meeting on Thursday, June 18 at 7:00 p.m. (Register here)

 

The event is being organized by young adults for young adults so that your voices may be heard as we discern where we go next in addressing racism in our diocese and our country. While elders are welcome to listen, this is a forum for young adults to speak and to lead.   

 

Anti-racism work is, by definition, multi-contextual. It is personal and familial; it is congregational and diocesan; it is a civic responsibility. And for Christians, it is an integral part of what it means to follow Jesus, as stated in our baptismal covenant: will you strive for justice and peace among all people and respect the dignity of every human being? 

 

The Young Adult Town Hall Meeting is a follow up from a June 3rd gathering of leaders from our Race and Social Justice Committee, Reparations Study Group, and participants in our first Sacred Ground cohorts who met online with members of diocesan staff to consider next steps in our racial justice work as a diocese. 

 

We were united in our desire to be both intentional and accountable to the anti-racism work before us. In wide-ranging discussion, several common themes emerged. Yet we realized that we were missing an important perspective, for there were fewer than 5 participants under the age of 40. It quickly became clear we needed to convene another conversation. 

 

I ask all congregational leaders reading this newsletter to forward this invitation to young adults in your communities. We need the robust, diverse, thoughtful voices of rising leaders.