Church and Society Ministry
Disciples Seek Justice
Our mission is to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. Our shared history includes a primary emphasis on Christian living, on putting faith and love into action.
Live: Our church commits to include the spiritual discipline of justice as a part of our understanding of discipleship and congregational vitality. John Wesley’s Rule of Discipleship needs to be understood and resurrected today: “(T)o witness to Jesus Christ in the world and to follow His teachings through acts of compassion, justice, worship, and devotion under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.”
Resist: Our church will regularly uplift our shared baptismal vows to encourage believers to a) repent of the sin of racism; b) resist evil, injustice, and oppression as it relates to racism; so that, c) we might be able to live into the vow to be in union with people of all ages, nations, and races.
Organize: Our church commits to directly engage with our local leaders and officials to work toward ending racism, poverty, and violence based upon the liberating Gospel of Jesus Christ, our United Methodist Social Principles, and Book of Resolutions. Specifically:
● Resolution 5031: Humanizing Criminal Justice;
● Resolution 3378: Racism and Economic Injustice Against People of Color in the US;
● Resolution 3422: Speaking Out for Compassion: Transforming the Context of Hate in the United States;
● Resolution 3371: A Charter for Racial Justice in an Interdependent Global Community;
● Resolution 3376: White Privilege in the United States.
GCORR presents a free online course Implicit Bias: What We Don’t Think We Think
Based off of the popular Implicit Bias Workbook, GCORR has created an online course for anyone who is interested in learning and teaching others about implicit bias. We invite pastors, teachers, and anyone who is interested in learning and teaching others about implicit bias to take this free on-demand online course. This course is designed for you to take at your own pace and includes bonus content specifically for preachers. The learning engagements included in each section allow for individual work, group work, and optional sermon preparation. All of the learning engagements recognize and lift up the reality that context is known best by those on the ground. Thus, while this course provides multiple entry points for learning about, thinking through, and transforming action regarding implicit bias, it does not contextualize the information for you. Implicit Bias: What We Don’t Think We Think honors the contextual wisdom that you and others will bring to this material. Each exercise is an invitation to the sacred journey of discovering with your church and community how God is leading you to use this material faithfully within your context.
TO ENROLL OR FIND OUT MORE, PLEASE CLICK THE LINK BELOW:
http://www.gcorr.org/online-course-implicit-bias/