The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada is offering a series of online workshops for learning how to begin conversations addressing racism within both the church and Canadian society as a whole.
The four workshops have been crafted for attendees to observe in a consecutive manner.
The online racial justice sessions will take place over the course of two weekdays in November, with the first two workshops being offered on Tuesday, November 12 (10:30 AM to 1:00 PM central and 2:00 PM to 4:30 PM), while sessions No. 3 and 4 will be held on Thursday, November 21 (10:30 AM to 1:00 PM central and 2:00 PM to 4:30 PM).
The four sessions will be co-facilitated by Carmen Ramirez, who joined the ELCIC national office staff in August of 2022, serving as an assistant to the national bishop in a role dedicated to diversity, equity and inclusion. Ramirez assembled and organized the information to be presented in November.
“The conversations we are going to have in these workshops are very important,” Ramirez said. “These are going to be some difficult conversations that people might not want to have on their own, or they may not know how to have. This helps provide that teaching avenue for them. Sometimes it’s as simple as just knowing how to begin conversations and just talking about racism, because sometimes we just don’t want to do it. We often think others will be offended, so, it’s kind of like a practice for helping develop our group work as well.”
Session participation will be capped at 50 participants, meaning the workshops will be offered on a first-come, first-served basis. Those interested in participating are asked to sign up here for free.
Ramirez says that the four workshops are open to anyone across Canada, but the conversations are aimed at those actively participating within the church.
“The four sessions will include a focus on Canadian history, exploration of definitions surrounding racism, some theological work and a Bible study,” she shared. “These are rather basic workshops that are really geared toward starting those conversations and exploring different ways we can talk with one another, and then really work toward taking appropriate action in the future. But that builds over the sessions; we work our way through to that by session No. 4. These workshops will be a good opportunity to explore further education and do so in a group environment. So, sign up if you can make some time.”
