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Maura Williams, Clover Earl, and Angela Wilcox, Racial Justice Ministry Team  Maura Williams: What’s the role of a ministry team in a faith community with a strongly voiced commitment to racial justice? How do we advance justice, wholeness, and equity, or dismantle dominant culture, as stated in our congregational Ends? Where should we start?
After reflecting on these questions, gathering input from stakeholders, and discerning an authentic path forward, the Racial and Restorative Justice Team has been reimagined as the new Racial Justice Ministry Team (RJMT). We are back with refreshed commitment to our work. Statement of Purpose: Justice can be defined as love made public. We focus on how to dismantle white dominant culture by expanding our individual and congregational capacity to center relationship and love as foundational to our work in the world. We see this as the first step before the hard work needed to achieve racial justice. The RJMT brings the double helix to life, integrating spiritual and antiracism practices within and among, so we can step into courageous action in the beyond. Our initial efforts this spring follow two pathways.
Angela Wilcox: Jodi Pfarr facilitated a training about identity and awareness at my school several years ago, and the impact was immediate: her model helped us understand the way our identity changes the way we do our work, without the shame that can sometimes put people on the defensive. The simplicity of this model, along with her humor and gifted storytelling, makes her the most effective trainer on this topic I’ve worked with. I’m excited to experience how Jodi can help prepare us for our work beyond the walls of Unity, equipped with tools to help us better understand our own identity and approach commitment to our community with greater intention. Clover Earl: Since resigning from the Board of Trustees last year, I have been in search of a place here at Unity Church to call home, and recently joined the RJMT. In my five years on the board, we had myriad conversations about dismantling white supremacy culture in support of our aspirational multicultural end. We used Tema Okun’s characteristics of White Supremacy Culture to challenge ourselves to take note of how we, as individuals, were showing up and behaving in our monthly board meetings. Turning the spotlight on or own behavior is both uncomfortable and courageous work. In the weeks since January 20, our world has turned inside out and upside down. Chaos rules the day. It seems urgent that we as a congregation continue the identity work begun with Team Dynamics and challenge ourselves to deepen our understanding of how to connect across difference. It is my experience that doing this work in community, with the support of those qualified to guide us, like Jodi Pfarr, is well worth the investment in time. We would be delighted to see you at the workshops this spring! Notes:
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Beloved Community ResourcesUnity Justice Database
Team Dynamics House of Intersectionality Anti-Racism Resources in the Unity Libraries Collection Creative Writers of Color in Unity Libraries The History of Race Relations and Unity Church, 1850-2005 Archives
March 2025
Beloved Community Staff TeamThe Beloved Community Staff Team (BCST) strengthens and coordinates Unity’s antiracism and multicultural work, and provides opportunities for congregants and the church to grow into greater intercultural competency. We help the congregation ground itself in the understanding of antiracism and multiculturalism as a core part of faith formation. We support Unity’s efforts to expand our collective capacity to imagine and build the Beloved Community. Here, we share the stories of this journey — the struggles, the questions, and the collaborations — both at Unity and in the wider world.
The current members of the Beloved Community Staff Team include Rev. Kathleen Rolenz, Rev. KP Hong, Rev. Lara Cowtan, Drew Danielson, Laura Park, Lia Rivamonte and Angela Wilcox. |
