DIVERSITY TEAM
One of our dreams at New Community is to become a church of "the nations" and to celebrate the spectrum and beauty of multiculturalism. To do this we must educate ourselves, pursue racial reconciliation and be intentional with our relationships.
DIVERSITY CHALLENGE
There are numerous ways to dive into multiculturalism, and understanding other cultures. Each week, we issue a challenge to all at New Community to step out of your comfort zone and into another culture; to broaden our view of people, and therefore of God; to begin the tough walk of racial reconciliation for God's people. It is a walk that is crucial, a walk that we must be intentional about, and although it will be arduous, it will be life changing. So, begin the walk today, with a few small steps...
NO CURRENT DIVERSITY CHALLENGE
SANKOFA
Sankofa is a West African word meaning "looking backward to move forward." The Sankofa journey, an intentional, cross-racial prayer journey, seeks to assist disciples of Christ on their move towards a righteous response to the social ills related to racism. This interactive experience explores historic sites of importance in the Civil Rights movement, sites of oppression and inequality for people of color, while seeking to move participants toward healing the wounds and racial divide caused by hundreds of years of racial injustice in the USA.
A Sankofa journey increases one's awareness, understanding and sensitivity for
- The past struggles, victories and continuing racist oppression existing in our country
- how far we have come, and
- how far we have yet to go.
Sankofa allows us the opportunity to consider how together, we might better address racial righteousness in our church, our nation, and our world.
On this 72-hour bus journey, participants will travel to critical sites of past and present racial injustice, such as Birmingham, AL, Albany, GA and Atlanta, GA. They will meet and hear from persons directly involved in ministries of justice in southern Georgia, visit places like the 16th Street Baptist Church, civil rights institutions, the Martin Luther King Center, and more.
A Sankofa journey is not just about information of the past and present, but seeks to be a journey for both personal and corporate change - simply put, a journey of spiritual transformation. Through sites visited, videos watched, and active processing of the journey, relationships of trust are deepened in an environment of grace.
For more information, applications, and dates go to:
http://www.covchurch.org/formation/j2rr/sankofa
DIVERSITY RESOURCES
MAGAZINES
- Latina
- Hispanic
- Hispanic Business
- Ebony
- Essence
- Jet
- Gospel Today
- Giant Robot (Asian)
- Asian Reporter
- Audrey (Asian, female)
BOOKS
- Divided by Faith: Evangelical Religion and the Problem of Race in America
by Michael O.Emerson - The Heart of Racial Justice: How Soul Change Leads to Social Change
by John M. Perkins (Foreword), Brenda Salter Mcneil, Rick Richardson - The Hispanic Challenge: Opportunities Confronting the Church
by Manuel Ortiz - It's the Little Things: Everyday Interactions That Anger, Annoy, and Divide the Races
by Lena Williams
ARTICLES
- White Privilage Shapes the U.S. (.pdf)
- America without Black People (.pdf)
- The Color of Money (.pdf)
- The Origins of Affirmative Action (.pdf)
- Fair Housing: The Once and Future Struggle (.pdf)
