Join a community of people from across the church who are exploring anti-racist practices! Together, we’ll be drawing from some of the themes of the book Wait—Is This Racist? A Guide to Becoming an Anti-Racist Church to explore very practical ways of co-creating anti-racist congregations. Even though we will be basing some of the conversation on Wait—Is This Racist? this will not be a book study! Reading the book and using the provided assessments will be useful, but it is the shared experiences of learning and implementation that are what will change our communities.

This six-session series is offered between April 2024 and May 2025. The online sessions are designed for congregational teams (ideally three‒four people from each congregation) whose communities of faith have already started the journey to becoming an anti-racist church. It will be helpful, if possible, to ensure that there is some racial diversity in your team.

As part of these sessions, gather with other congregations to deepen anti-racist awareness together. Engage in self-examination, explore practical ways to deepen your anti-racist work, and accompany one another on your journeys of learning and change. Communities of faith are invited to commit people, time, and resources to co-create change in their midst.

Come prepared to work! There will be lots of support along the way.

Sometimes, it can be hard to make change alone. Members of a small group, however, can work to bring about change together.

When your community of faith brings a team of people to "Wait -- Is this Racist?" you will learn together how to have hard conversations and use solid assessments of your ministries to create change together. You will create places of support and accountability for work to happen as a group, in your community of faith.

Part of our work will use Wait is the Racist? A Guide to Becoming an Anti-Racist Church. “This book will help you engage in some of the deep paradigm shifts that are necessary for your church to become an organization that doesn’t just do anti-racism, but actually is anti-racist – from the inside out.” (P. 3)

Who should be on the team?

• Key leaders in your community of faith, such as the ministry personnel, board chair, additional members of your church council, or members of your social justice or anti-racism committees
• People who can name the changes needed to create and implement specific plans for focused change that will alter who you are as a community of faith – not about simply casting a vision
• Racial diversity is welcomed, but not necessary
• People who have engaged with the United Church’s introductory racial justice training. It’s ideal if you have done both the Introductory course and also What Now: Action Plans to Dismantle Systemic Racism.  If you have not done the full training, please still sign up for "Wait--Is this Racist?" .  We suggest that you also engage with one of our introductory racial justice courses over the course of our time together. There will also be background resources available, so everyone is starting with roughly the same understanding.
  

“All of this raises the question – do we want to be anti-racist because that’s what the current market demands? Or because we long for the true shalom of God and know it can’t exist without real racial justice?” (P.2)

$149.99 for teams of 3 or more -- includes 2 copies of the book
$49.99 for individual participants

Please note that this is not a basic introduction to what racism is. It will be important to have had some background to anti-racist engagement, such as through The United Church’s racial justice education sessions. If members of your team have not had a chance to complete these, some background resources will be made available, so everyone is starting with roughly the same understandings.

The sessions will be led by General Council Office staff Beth Baskin and Adele Halliday. As part of the first session, Kerry Connelly, the author of the book Wait—Is this Racist? will join us.

"Wait, Is This Racist?"

"Ministry beyond the adults in our spaces"

"Ministry within our communities of faith"

"Living into our anti-racism action plans"

"Communities of practice: Co-creating anti-racist churches"

"Continuing our church’s anti-racism journeys"