2021 ANNUAL REPORT: EQUITY & JUSTICE
HIGHLIGHTS OF 2021
What did we do this year? We:
- Joined the Racial Justice Virtual Pilgrimage through the Absalom Jones Center for Racial Healing
- Offered an LGBTQIA Workshop, Training
- Organized The Church Cracked Open book discussion with author The Rev. Canon Stephanie Spellers
- Offered Resilience for Activists course through the School for Christian Faith and Leadership course through the School for Christian Faith and Leadership
- Launched the First Cohort of The Reparations Task Force Congregational History Project
- Ran an EDOW Racism 101 training, grounded in the Baptismal Covenant and Becoming Beloved Community
- Began rebuilding a Prison Ministry Strategy
- Extended ongoing support of the Washington National Cathedral Sanctuary Ministry
- Convened the Equity & Justice Steering Committee
- Established the Afghan Refugee Response Team in the wake of the end of the war in Afghanistan to respond to the urgent needs refugees arriving in this area (with 25 parishes participating/sponsoring as of the publication date of the annual report)
- Published a Mentor Resource Guide for Sponsoring and Assisting Refugee Resettlement
- Created an EDOW Afghan Refugee Ministry Listserv
- Supported ongoing antiracism work in congregations (including Sacred Ground and Becoming Beloved Community offerings)
- Held vigils for Derek Chauvin verdict and the first anniversary of the killing of George Floyd
PIVOT TO 2022
In 2022, as an extension of our work to become a more equitable and just diocese/region, we will focus our equity and justice energy on Creation Care, LGBTQIA+ Cultural Competency & Humility and continued AntiRacism work.
Creation Care:
- Building a diocesan-wide task force
- Auditing where Creation Care efforts are in every congregation
- Creating a strategy for cross-diocesan engagement
LGBTQIA+ Cultural Competency & Humility Work:
- Offering a 6-week series through the School for Christian Faith and Leadership
- Providing ongoing training for both diocesan and Washington National Cathedral staff
- Building relationships within the DC/MD area to hold ourselves accountable