Justice Summit 2017 DC

Friday, April 21, 2017

• Friday afternoon: Trip to new National Museum of African American History and Culture from 1:00-6:00 p.m. The planning team is working to secure 30 timed-passes for us for during this Friday afternoon time block.
• Friday evening: We’ll gather for dinner together Friday evening.

Saturday, April 22, 2017

Resist & Reclaim: A Black Church Summit on the Intersectionality of Oppression with a Special Focus on Race, Gender, Sexual Orientation, and Gender Identity

• 8:00-8:45am — Registration and continental breakfast
• 8:45-9:00am — Opening words of welcome from Summit Partners
  • Drs. Dennis and Christine Wiley, pastors, Covenant Baptist United Church of Christ, Washington, DC
  • Rev. Wendell Griffen, pastor, New Millennium Church, Little Rock, AR
  • cathy knight, executive director, Church Within A Church Movement, Chicago, IL
• 9:00-9:15am — Centering and opening prayer, Rev. Vernice Thorn, Church Within A Church Movement
• 9:15-10:45am — Resisting Injustice
  • Facilitators: Rev. Gil Caldwell, cathy knight, Rev Benjamin Reynolds
  • The LGBTQ Equality movement is often called the new civil rights movement, but how true is that claim? Are the two movements similar, or are they fundamentally different? Do they have the same goals? Why are they often in conflict with one another? A new documentary, "From Selma to Stonewall," explores these questions through the journey of two unlikely friends – Gil Caldwell, an 80-year-old black, straight retired preacher and civil rights leader, and Marilyn Bennet, a 52-year-old white lesbian activist and author. During the workshop, participants will have the opportunity to dialogue with Gil Caldwell, cathy knight, and Benjamin Reynolds in exploration of some of the questions that get at the intersection of race, sexual orientation, gender identity, and religion as well as where the civil rights and LGBTQ equality movements might find common ground.
• 10:45-11:00pm — Break
• 11:00am-12:30pm — Reclaiming Inclusive and Biblical Language
  • Facilitators: Rev. Dr. Ronald Hopson, Rev. Eunesa Benoman
  • Reading the Bible and understanding the Bible are two different things. The bridge between knowledge and comprehension is interpretation. This session will examine the critical role of biblical interpretation in assessing how the Bible has been misinterpreted to justify the prevention of LGBTQ persons, women, and African Americans from open and authentic inclusion in the total life of the Church. It will lift up some of the “clobber passages” of scripture that have not only been employed to discriminate against certain marginalized communities, but that have also fostered double and even triple jeopardy for those who find themselves within the intersection(s) of oppression. In addition, it will illuminate how various factors – including experience, tradition, history, and culture – color our interpretation and, thus, influence our beliefs about God, humanity, and the world in which we live.
• 12:30-1:15pm — Lunch
• 1:15-2:45pm — Reconciling Brokenness Through Intersectionality
  • Facilitators: Rev. Wendell Griffen, Rev. Dr. Dennis Wiley
  • It is one thing for the Black Church to resist in theory the intersectionality of oppression that negatively impacts marginalized individuals and communities in this nation and world. It is another thing, however, for the Black Church to reclaim in praxis the prophetic urgency of both naming external oppression that flourishes beyond its walls and eradicating internalized oppression that abounds within. This workshop will disclose the stories of (1) how a local black congregation has dared to model the beloved community by radically welcoming, including, and empowering all people while celebrating differences in race, gender, sexual orientation, and gender identity; and (2) how a local black pastor eloquently alerts us to “the fierce urgency of prophetic hope” in order that we might not only resist the forces of retrenchment, alienation, division, and despair during this regressive political climate, but that we might also reclaim the prophetic initiative to affirm and build an inclusive world reflecting God’s love for justice and diversity.
• 2:45-3:00pm — Break
• 3:00-4:30pm — Restoring Our Beloved Community
  • Facilitators: Dr. Patricia Griffen, Rev. Dr. Christine Wiley
  • Intersectionality is a term that describes how individuals can face multiple threats of discrimination when their identities overlap a number of marginalized distinctions with regard to race, gender, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, ethnicity, health, and other characteristics. The systemic oppression of African Americans is reflected in the intersections of these characteristics where multiple forces and institutions create a traumatic effect on individuals, families, and groups. This workshop explores the impact of this intersectional oppression by looking specifically at sexual orientation, gender identity, race, and gender. Included will be an overview of historical trauma suffered by this population. Finally, through interactive discussion, we will examine what the church’s response should be in order to create the beloved community, affirming and inclusive of all of God’s people.

Sunday, April 23, 2017

• Worship at Covenant Baptist United Church of Christ