Our congregation has been selected to participate in the inaugural cohort of a new initiative in partnership with the Alliance of Baptist and Davidson College to address systemic racism. This project, “Churches that THRIVE for Racial Justice,” is funded by the Lilly Endowment as part of their national “Thriving Congregations Initiative.” The project, involving 15-25 churches in the United States and Canada, will examine white-dominant congregational life and vitality through the lens of the Alliance’s commitment to racial justice, specifically working to dislodge white-biased structures of injustice and enacting racially-aware ministry and liturgical practices.
Our pastoral staff, along with representatives from our newly established task force for racial justice, will receive training to inform our continued racial justice work as a congregation. Over the five-year commitment, we will learn and grow in conversation with other churches committed to similar work.