Our Commitment to Fighting for Racial and Social Justice
“The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.” - The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
This page is intended to connect our community with opportunities to learn, pray, and act around issues of racial justice.
Sacred Ground at Heavenly Rest, Led by Carolyn Crouch - Winter 2024
You are invited to walk with fellow CHR parishioners through chapters of our country’s history of race and racism while weaving in threads of family story, economic class, and political and regional identity. Join the Sacred Ground journey, the Episcopal Church’s long-term commitment to racial healing, reconciliation, and justice in our personal lives, ministries, and society.
Presiding Bishop Michael Curry has described Sacred Ground as a spiritual practice. Over the course of 11 sessions, participants can peel away the layers that have contributed to the challenges and divides of the present day – all while grounded in our call to faith, hope, and love. The documentary films and readings that comprise the Sacred Ground curriculum focus on Indigenous, Black, Latino, and Asian/Pacific American histories as they intersect with European American histories. Our stories. Learn more about and hear how Bishop Curry describes Sacred Ground here.
Sacred Ground sessions will occur 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm every other Tuesday evening starting early February 10. The facilitator is Carolyn Crouch, a CHR online parishioner based in Washington, D.C. She has co-led two Sacred Ground groups in 2020 and 2021, which inspired her to participate in Heavenly Rest’s May 2022 racial justice pilgrimage to Georgia and Alabama. Over the summer, she led the CHR small group that read the book Let Heartbreak Be Your Guide. She currently mentors an Education for Ministry group comprised of members from Washington, D.C., New York, and Tucson, AZ.
For more information or to register, please email - Lucas Thorpe
Vendor Initiative
We know that a thriving future for New York City and the world will require moral & inclusive social & economic leadership.
Small and minority owned businesses of all sizes have been particularly hard hit by the coronavirus pandemic. The impact on businesses has had ripple effects in all of our communities, but particularly in communities of color which have long endured unequal access to opportunities.
One way that faith communities can step forward to serve our city and help co-create God’s economy is to assess our vendor relationships and make an intentional effort to employ and contract with Black and minority owned businesses.
As faith communities, we are called to be honest and prudent with our financial and human resources, and to use those resources to promote justice and dignity for all people. Read our statement of intention here. Get your faith institution involved here.
The Path to Equity on Wall Street: Panel Discussion
Watch our first conversation in a race and economic justice series: Path to Equity on Wall Street. Panelists include The Hon. William C. Thompson, Jr., Chief Administrative Office and Senior Managing Director at Siebert Williams Shank, Natasha A. Holiday, Managing Director and Head of the New York Office at RBC Capital Markets, Kimberly Lyons, Vice President-Senior Analyst at Moody's, and Don Rice, Chief Executive Office at Rice. The Rev. Matthew Heyd will moderate. Watch here.
Faith, Civil Rights, & Racial Healing,
A Conversation with
The Rt Rev Duncan Gray, III &
Ambassador Andrew Young
Pastor, politician, diplomat, and civil rights leader Andrew Young shares his story of faith and change-making in dialogue with Duncan Gray, III, Bishop of the Episcopal Church in Mississippi and advocate for racial justice within the church and beyond. Dr. Westina Matthews offers the introduction; the Rev. Matthew Heyd moderated. Watch here.
Reshaping the Moral Imagination of Our Nation
Join us for a virtual conversation on justice, equity, morality, and hope with The Very Rev. Dr. Kelly Brown Douglas, Dean of Episcopal Divinity School at Union (bio here) and Darren Walker, President of the Ford Foundation (bio here). The Rev. Matthew Heyd will moderate. We hope you'll invite your family and friends to join us for this important discussion. Watch here.
Resources:
Recommended Reading
How to Be an Antiracist – Ibram X. Kendi
Anxious to Talk about It: Helping White Christians Talk Faithfully about Racism – Carolyn B. Helsel
Damaged Heritage: The Elaine Race Massacre and A Story of Reconciliation – J. Chester Johnson
I’m Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness – Austin Channing Brown
Between the World and Me – Ta-Nehisi Coates
Me and White Supremacy: Combat Racism, Change the World, and Become a Good Ancestor – Layla F. Saad
Healing and Reconciling History 100 Years After the Elaine Race Massacre - J. Chester Johnson