Anti-Racism Programs

Racial Justice programs for various different audiences

Working toward racial justice in church and society is a life-long "heart" journey. We are all—people of every colour and cultural background—touched by the sin of racism, although in different ways. Together we must continue to learn from each other, with each other, and with the Spirit, so that we continue to break down barriers and build right relationship and just institutions.

Because we need to work together for racial justice within our church and because we believe that we are a "whole people of God" with a "priesthood of all believers," racial justice workshops are open to both lay people and ministry personnel.

These workshops will offer an overview of the work of racial justice and are one step on the journey. The purpose of the racial justice workshops is threefold:

  • to engage in self-examination around privilege and internalized racism (superiority and inferiority)
  • to engage in analysis of the systemic nature of racism within the church and wider society
  • to offer tools for leaders to begin or continue the work of racial justice in local ministry contexts

Workshops will have periods for individual reflection, small group work, and large group discussion. Participants will be encouraged to deepen their learning journeys outside of the workshops.


Introductory Workshops are Mandatory for Ministry Personnel and Licensed Lay Worship Leaders

The courses marked "Mandatory" are required for Ministry Personnel and Licensed Lay Worship Leaders. You only need to do the mandatory training once in your career, so if you've already completed one of the mandatory courses offered by the General Council or one of our Regional Offices you don't need to do this again. 

We are also pleased to provide similar material for Lay Leaders who are not in paid leadership

The course "What Now: Action Plans to Dismantle Systemic Racism"  (formerly named "Creating an Affirming and Transforming Space") is an optional extra course, available to everyone who has already completed one of the introductory courses.


Waiting List

All of these courses are offered 2-3 times a year. If the program you'd like to take is showing dates in the past, you can still click through to the course description. From there, you'll get the option to go onto a waiting list. We'll notify all those on the waiting list when new dates are posted.