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An Invitation from the Rector and Vestry
of Trinity Church in the City of Boston
June 2008
Dear Trinity Church Parishioner:
Trinity Church's clergy, its vestry, and members of the congregation have become increasingly aware of the great damage that systemic racism has done to our country, to our church, to our culture, and to our very souls as children of God. It has left us divided as a people and fearful of one another. It has caused us to pass laws to ensure an imbalance of power and justice. It diminishes our promise as a nation and our practice as Christians.
The time has come in the faith journey of our church community to address this sin and to do all in our power to overcome it.
Following the recommendation of the Trinity:Next Plan and approval and funding by the vestry, the Anti-Racism Planning and Design Task Force of Trinity Church asks for the help and commitment of forty members of this parish to join a new anti-racism team to begin the work of dismantling racism. It requires each volunteer to have an open mind and open heart, deep respect for all people, willingness to learn, and an eagerness to bring individual interests and skills to this process.
We are looking for people who represent the breadth and heterogeneity of our parish. Given the training and team building necessary, we expect team members to make at least a three-year commitment to this effort. The training requires ten days over six to twelve months. (See Training Calendar below.) Training is conducted by Crossroads Ministries, an interfaith and community-based anti-racism training organization (www.crossroadsantiracism.org). After training is complete, the team begins the work of implementing its anti-racism strategies.
For information on team expectations, please see the link below. For further information on the historical background and proposal to set up the Trinity Anti-Racism Team, please download the proposal and supporting exhibits below, or pick up these materials at the Clarendon Street desk.
If you are interested, please contact Katie Vogele at 617-536-0944 or kvogele@trinitychurchboston.org. Please respond to Katie with your name and telephone number. A member of the task force will contact you to set up a meeting in person during the summer months. We hope to have the team membership complete by the end of September.
If you have questions, please contact any member of the Trinity Church Anti-Racism Planning and Design Task Force:
Alex Bok, 617-357-8671
Madeline McNeely, 617-795-7071
Grace Clark, 617-436-8760
Constance & Dain Perry, 617-241-5903
Barbara Dortch-Okara, 781-575-0630
Geoff Smith, 617-723-5931
Pam Foster, 617-536-0944
Arville Stephen, 617-332-2045
Ron Geddes, 617-536-1465
Godspeed,
Anne Bonnyman
Rector
Bob Cowden
Senior Warden
Joan Hadly
Junior Warden
Proposal to Form an Anti-Racism Team
at Trinity Church in the City of Boston
Executive Summary
The Trinity Church Anti-Racism Planning and Design Task Force is pleased to present to the Trinity Church Vestry this Proposal to Form an Anti-Racism Team at Trinity Church in the City of Boston. This proposal is at once a report and a request. As a report, it describes the purpose of the Anti-Racism Planning and Design Task Force and provides material which discusses the historical and contemporary contexts of racism in the United States as well as anti-racism initiatives in the Episcopal Church of the United States, the Massachusetts Episcopal Diocese and our own Trinity Church. Finally, this proposal reports on the work of the Anti-Racism Planning and Design Task Force and concludes with a request to the Vestry to authorize the formation of an Anti-Racism Team with a proposed timetable for its selection, training, development, and budget.
Respectfully submitted,
Alexander T. Bok
Grace D. Clark
Barbara A. Dortch-Okara
Pamela L. Foster, Vicar
Ronald W. Geddes
Madeline D. McNeely
Constance R. Perry
J. H. Daingerfield Perry
Geoffrey W. Smith
Arville I. Stephen
Submitted to the Trinity Church Vestry by the Trinity Church Anti-Racism Planning and Design Task Force on April 9, 2008. Approved by Vestry on May 14, 2008.
Exhibit 1: Barack Obama Speech, March 2008
Exhibit 2: 2005 Trinity Church Boston Parish Profile, pages 8-9
Exhibit 3: Historical Development of Institutional Racism Working Paper by Robette Ann Dias, Crossroads Ministries
Exhibit 4: "Those Hidden Costs" by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, March 2008 Huffington Post
Exhibit 5: History of African Methodist Episcopal Church and St. Cyprian's Church, Boston Martin Luther King, Jr. Breakfast
Exhibit 6: Letter from the House of Bishops on "The Sin of Racism"
Exhibit 7: Three Resolutions from 2006 Episcopal Church General Convention: A123, A127, CO11
Exhibit 8: Trinity Church Anti-Racism Report and Recommendations, May 2003
Exhibit 9: List of Trinity Church Crossroads Ministries Workshop Attendees, March 2007
Exhibit 10: Wall of History Overview and Wall of History, 2007
Exhibit 11: Participant Testimonials and Evaluations from Trinity Church Crossroads Workshop
Exhibit 12: "Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack" by Peggy McIntosh and "Why As Christians, We Must Oppose Racism" (1994 speech by Desmond Tutu)
Exhibit 13: Continuum on Becoming an Anti-Racist Multi-Cultural Organization, Crossroads Ministries
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