Telling the Truth about Racism

Following The Episcopal Church’s Way of Love, the Episcopal Diocese of Wasington will Tell the Truth about our diocese, churches and our relationship with/to racism.

Baptismal Promise: Persevere in resisting evil, and whenever we fall into sin, repent and return to the Lord.
Core Questions: What racial/cultural/ethnic groups are in our church? Who have we excluded or included?
Through the School for Christain Faith & Leadership, you are invited to partake in an array of courses that help deepen your commitment to equity and justice.

Reparations Task Force

The purpose of the Diocesan Reparations Task Force is to investigate the financial legacy of chattel slavery in the Diocese. Our goal is to reckon with and make restitution for the value of reparations owed on that legacy.
As an initial step, we are commissiong two research projects.
- The first — a Congregational History Project — will review the history of diocesan antecedents (congregations and other institutions) and their entanglement with chattel slavery.
- The second project will survey contemporary institutional reparations initiatives, with the aim of identifying best practices and ways to move forward.
If you are interested in facilitating a Congregational History Project to uncover your parishes connection to racism, chatel slavery and discern your call moving foward, please contact the Reparations Task Force chair, Peter Jarrett-Schell

Sacred Ground Circles

Sacred Ground is a film- and readings-based dialogue series on race, grounded in faith. Small groups are invited to walk through chapters of America’s history of race and racism, while weaving in threads of family story, economic class, and political and regional identity.
Many congregations in our diocese are participating in various Sacred Ground Circles. If you would like to learn more about how to get started please contact Equity & Justice Steering Committee Co-chairs, Dr. Enid LaGesse and the Rev. David Wacaster.

The Episcopal Church Racial Justice Audit

Please take a look at the Racial Justice Audit of Episcopal Leadership, 2018 – 2020 (Published January 2021) to orient to the ways we are called to tell the truth about racism in our church and diocese.