Grant opportunity

for ministries of justice in marginalized communities

Your New England Conference Commission on Religion and Race (CoRR) is pleased to announce a new granting opportunity in the life of our Conference.

Thanks to the justice-centered mindset of the United Methodist Foundation of New England and their desire to work on healing the harm that centuries of systemic racism has caused in our communities,  CoRR is able to offer bi-annual grants to bodies within the bounds of our annual conference that engage in ministries of justice in marginalized communities.

Find the grant application and instructions

Researching church property history

NEAC Commission on Religion and Race wants to remind worship communities that the 2022 Annual Conference adopted RS-22-225 — REGARDING THE HISTORY OF REDLINING, RACE COVENANTS, AND SUNDOWN TOWNS IN NEW ENGLAND (click the link for the full text). The legislation states local churches will research the histories of their facilities with regard to “red lining, racist policies, and sundowning policies” and if said histories are found, work will be done for confession and reconciliation.

Report on your work

If your community has done this work, please share your findings and your resulting response with CORR by sending an email to CORR Chair Rev. Effie McAvoy at reveffie@gmail.com. If you need help beginning or continuing this work, please reach out to Rev. McAvoy and CORR members will be happy to assist.

Property research how-to guide

CORR has created a guide for churches in New Hampshire about how to research church property information. That document is linked here. CORR hopes to create similar guides for the other states in our Conference.

Resources

Ignoring White Privilege and Racism in the Church | The Interview

An interview with the authors of  A Body Broken, A Body Betrayed - Race, Memory, and Eucharist in White-Dominant Churches

Race and privilege are issues that cry out for new kinds of attention and healing in American society. More specifically, we are being called to surface the dynamics of whiteness especially in contexts where whites have had the most power in America. The church is one of those contexts — particularly churches that have traditionally been seen as the stalwarts of the American religious landscape: mainline Protestant churches.

How Can Blacks and Whites Stand Together on Racial Injustice?

This conversation between a White pastor and 2 Black pastors focuses on how White Christians can engage in conversations about racism with Black Christians (Christians of Color).

Anti-Racism training: Intersectionality

The following videos on the topic of intersectionality are required viewing for the 2023 Quadrennial Anti-Racism training conducted by CCORR.

• The urgency of Intersectionality by Kimberle Crenshaw
• Intersectionality 101

See the district calendars at www.neumc.org/events for details

Video of ‘RACISM: WHAT DO WE DO?’ Forum posted here

The Conference Commission on Religion and Race (CORR) shares a recording of the June 13, 2020 Zoom webinar. This forum addressed ways to assist persons serving in the local church in ways to engage their congregations, communities, and selves in moving from talking to action. CORR is planning additional programming.

This video was also shared as part of the forum

Learn about Boston-based group White People Challenging Racism 

Anti-racism study for churches from the Lakelands Institute

Resources for children

 R-Squared is a project of the General Commission on Religion and Race of the United Methodist Church. R-Squared aims to support and resource diverse faith communities in the work of racial equity, anti-racism, and intersectional justice-making. Learn more

‘Anti-Racism 101: Required Skills for White People Who Want to be Allies’

This online course offered by the General Commission on Religion and Race (GCORR) centers on one big idea: the differences between anti-racism and defending oneself against charges of racism. Course launches Sept. 1, 2020. Cost is $34.99 for the first 100 registrants.
Learn more

'Vital Conversations: Race'

The theme of the 2017 Annual Conference was “Vital Conversations: Race,” and at the session, each church received a copy of the Vital Conversations study series created by the General Commission on Religion and Race (GCORR).

In 2019, the Conference Commission on Religion and Race (CCORR) began conducting training on the use of these materials. Links to these resources – including the Vital Conversations study series – can be found below. 

Read a Sept. 10, 2019 news story about the training

Resources on the General Commission on Religion and Race website 
Vital Conversations Series 1

• On White Privilege with Dr. Robin DiAngelo 
• Meaningful Conversations About Race, Featuring Rev. Dr. Hooker
• Study Guide from Series 1

Vital Conversations Series 2
Vital Conversations Series 3

Additional Resources from the Vital Conversations training
A glossary of terms used in this training
Suggested reading - updated January 2024