At Annual Conference, amidst the business and resolutions, the worship and reports, we had time to consider the ongoing effects of racism on this country and what we can do about it.
"If someone is drowning and you can't swim, you can't help."
Likewise, when you encounter the results of white supremacy (or any oppressing ism), we have to know how to respond to be helpful. So we learned a new CPR protocol that allows us to move from furious to curious. It helps us interrupt ignorance and bigotry. It allows us to listen more than talk. And it helps us create spaces that are healthier for the diversity of persons God creates.
C is for clarifying. P is for probing. R is redirecting. It invites those who are interested to interrogate their comments and beliefs and learn more about how they harm others. The goal is to interrupt and change the space around you (kinda like creating a no-smoking space) rather than trying to convince someone else to change their behavior. (In the example, it wouldn't be about making someone stop smoking, just directing them outside, away from the places where smoking isn't allowed).
So what if we all got wise about creating an exclusion-free zone around us? Not trying to debate others or win the conversation with facts, but creating a safer space where we (and others) are not so directly impacted by the cancerous smoke of racism and other isms?
The 21-day anti-racism activation experience is available through "A Long Talk about a Difficult Truth." https://alongtalk.com/.
Lisa and I signed up for the session starting next month. Here's the link if you'd like to join us.
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfUlHMUboplebO49mJY7elJHurWRXztQ8oN4l4xzWLAVar_0Q/viewform?pli=1&pli=1
peace,
RevKelly
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