These are the materials discussed during the Bishop's six-session study group, Pursuing Racial Reconciliation, held Jan. - Feb. 2021.
Session 1 (Jan. 5, 2021):
- Read Philippians 1
- Watch the film Harriet
Session 2 (Jan. 12, 2021):
- Read Philippians 2
- Watch the film 12 Years a Slave
- Watch Alvin Ailey’s Revelations
- Read: Frederick Douglass, Fourth of July Address
Session 3 (Jan 19, 2021):
- Read Philippians 2
- Read John Newton’s biography entry. Open attachments at bottom of the webpage to read his account of slavery and original lyrics of Amazing Grace.
- Read Frederick Douglass' Fourth of July Address
- Read William Lloyd Garrison's 1854 speech, No Compromise with the Evil of Slavery
- Read Angelina Grimke's Address to the Massachusetts Legislature, 1938
- Read Angelina Grimke Weld's speech at Pennsylvania Hall
- Read Sojourner Truth's 1851 speech, Ain't I a Woman?
Session 4 (Jan. 26, 2021):
- Read Philippians 3
- Watch The Free State of Jones
- Optional – watch Lincoln
Session 5 (Feb. 2, 2021):
- Read the transcript of Richard Rothstein's interview on NPR's Fresh Air: A 'Forgotten History' Of How The U.S. Government Segregated America
- Read Richard Rothstein's opinion piece in the NY Times: The Black Lives Next Door
- Read Béla Fleck’s Journey To Find Truth In Origins Of The Banjo, WBUR
Session 6 (Feb. 9, 2021):
-
Watch Ruby Sales’ TED Talk, September 2018: How we can start to heal the pain of racial division
- Watch Amanda Gorman’s TED Talk, November 2018: Using your voice is a political choice
- Listen to Hold On Just a Little While Longer (traditional spiritual)
- Read aloud Reconciliation of a Penitent, BCP p. 447
Small Group Discussion:
Do not remember the former things,
or consider the things of old.
I am about to do a new thing;
now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?
I will make a way in the wilderness
and rivers in the desert.
– Isaiah 43: 18-19
10 minutes to reflect on the Isaiah passage together.
- What are the old or former things God is encouraging you to leave behind?
- What are the new things God is doing or what are the new ways God is making for you? For the church?
30 minutes to reflect on Ruby Sales, Amanda Gorman, and Hold On.
- Where does it hurt?
- Do you want to be healed?
- Whose shoulder do you stand on?
- What do you stand for?
5 minutes to close in prayer.
- Having listened to each other use your own words to offer a hope for the others in your group. Take time to let each person add a word or phrase to the prayer.
- The pray can start with, “Dear God” and end with “Amen.”
- Avoid judging yourself when you pray.