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Mission and goals of the commission

The mission and goals of the Commission are “to promote greater understanding, training and practice of dismantling racism and furthering reconciliation and justice, both by laity and clergy within the Church.”

Racial Reconciliation

“Reconciliation is the spiritual practice of seeking loving, liberating and life-giving relationship with God and one another, and striving to heal and transform injustice and brokenness in ourselves, our communities, institutions and society.”

(from The Episcopal Church’s Racial Reconciliation Team)

Pledge of Faith and Action Against Racial Injustice

I acknowledge and promise to reject injustice stemming from racism within my thoughts or actions. I will commit to accomplishing one or more acts of reconciliation as I reflect upon practices aligned with Jesus and beloved community. I will “turn from the powers of sin, hatred, fear, injustice and oppression toward the way of truth, love, hope, justice and freedom.”

Download the Pledge and resources for fulfilling it.

Membership

Helen Harper (Chair), Matthew Lincoln, Rose Sconiers, Susan Woods, Kim Rossi,  Diana Leiker, Leann McConchie, Ann Tillman, Thomas Tripp, Michelle Cray, Denise Clark-Merriweather, Hal Payne, Christian Eshelman, Lillian Davis-Wilson, Marc Gutierrez, Deanna Scharf, Joseph Croskey, Matthew Scott, Stacey Fussell, Lisa Layman, Mark Elliston, Sara Nesbitt, Tracy Schliep, Shawn Clerkin, and John Ranney

HISTORY

The Diocese of Western New York’s Commission to Dismantle Racism and Discrimination was reborn in September 2018 when the Very Rev. Dr. Kelly Brown Douglas, dean of Episcopal Divinity School at Union Theological Seminary, visited the diocese to meet with the commission and give a public lecture.

“She presented fascinating information on the origins of racism in this country and on the particular ways segregation remains a significant issue in Buffalo, and she challenged us with her call that it isn’t up to Black people to explain racism to white people,” Canon Cathy Dempesy-Sims said. “Rather, it is up to white people to make the effort to listen and learn from others on how to bridge the divide that leads to the indiscriminate murders of Black people in this country.”

In the spring of 2019, the Bishop James Theodore Holly Chapter of the Union of Black Episcopalians (UBE), which includes several commission members, hosted the UBE’s Northeast Regional Conference in Niagara Falls. The weekend event included conversations based on Becoming Beloved Community, the Episcopal Church’s vision document on racial reconciliation, which includes the four quadrants of the Becoming Beloved Community labyrinth:  telling the truth, repairing the breach, proclaiming the dream, and practicing the way of love. The conversations were designed to help shape the action plan of the commission. Read a summary of the conversations.

In 2022, the Rev. Matt Lincoln, chair of the Commission, reported to the annual conventions. Watch it on YouTube.

To learn more about the commission and its work, email:

The Rev. Helen Harper, Chair

The Rev. Canon Stacey Fussell, First Vice-Chair for NWPA
Susan Woods, First Vice-Chair for WNY

Standing on Holy Ground: Diocesan Partnership Pilgrims Visit Alabama

Last week, Bishop Sean and 22 people from the diocesan partnership traveled to Alabama to visit key sites from the Civil Rights Movement and learn about the history of racism and racial violence. Organizers hope the journey will become a regular pilgrimage for people from our dioceses. The Rev. Kim Rossi of St. Stephen’s, Olean,…

Prayers of the People for Healing and an End to Gun Violence

Sunday, May 14, which is Mother’s Day, marks the one-year anniversary of the mass shooting at the Tops grocery store in Buffalo that claimed the lives of ten people and injured three others. On that day, the Commission to Dismantle Racism and Discrimination invites congregations to extend prayers for those who lost their lives, those…

Faith and Action Funding Now Available

The Commission to Dismantle Racism and Discrimination is offering funding to congregations with initiatives inspired by the Commission’s Pledge of Faith and Action Against Racial Injustice: LEARN―PRAY―ACT. Congregations holding a book study related to dismantling racism or other forms of discrimination, hosting guest speakers, or visiting a historic site or museum like the Niagara Falls Underground…

Becoming Beloved Community: Here and Now Lenten Study

The Commission to Dismantle Racism and Discrimination has developed a five-part Lenten series titled “Becoming Beloved Community: Here and Now.” The materials, which are based on the 2020 diocesan convention resolution titled “Framing the Journey to Beloved Community” are now available: Download the Lenten program. For more information, email Canon Twila Smith.