Leading Through Uncharted Territories - Dr. Elaine Heath and Dr. Fatimah Sellah - Race, Racism in America and the Church: The United Methodist Church's Clarion Call to Action Pt. 1

A conversation In light of the murder of of George Floyd - Minneapolis, Ahmaud Arbery South Georgia, Breonna Taylor in Kentucky, Mother Emmanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church massacre in Charleston SC.  The protests, the riots, and the list goes on and on. As difficult as it has become, as Christians we must speak truth about race, racism in America, and how the Church can no longer be silent, sit on the sidelines, believe that there is not a problem, say that is not my problem, say I didn’t cause this problem etc… As people of God, each of us has a mandate on our lives by God. Matthew 25:31-46 reminds us all, The Son of Man will judge the nations. Each of us, individually, and collectively will have to answer to our response to the clarion call. Siblings, there is much kingdom work to be done. Who's in? Contact Dr. Stephanie Moore Hand, [email protected]

OUR GUEST:

Dr. Elaine Heath's interdisciplinary scholarly work is focused on, integrating pastoral, biblical, and spiritual theology, bridging the gap between academy, church, and world. Healing trauma, emergent forms of Christianity, and alternative forms of theological education for the church. Heath served as Dean of the Duke University Divinity School, McCreless Professor of Evangelism at Perkins School of Theology, and Southern Methodist University. She is a pioneer and co-founder of the Missional Wisdom Foundation, Neighborhood Seminary, a contextualized model of missional theological education for laity. Heath is an ordained elder in the United Methodist Church and served in pastoral ministry prior to her academic ministry.  

Rev. Dr. Fatimah S. Salleh was born in Brooklyn, NY to a Puerto-Rican and Malaysian mother and an African American father. She is the eldest of seven. Dr. Salleh received her Ph.D. in Mass Communication from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She  earned a Master’s degree from Syracuse University in Public Communication and a second Master’s in Divinity from Duke University. She also served on the staff of Duke University. She is married to Eric Sorensen and they have four children: Micah, Xavier, Ronin and Zora Grace.  She is the founder of A Certain Work, an organization dedicated to educating on issues of faith, diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Resources:

"Stamped from the Beginning" by Ibram Kendi

"The People's History" by Howard Zinn

"Sisters in the Wilderness" by Delores Williams

"Freedom's Daughters" by Lynne Olsen

“The Third Reconstruction: How a Moral Movement is Overcoming the Politics of Division and Fear” by William Barber II and Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove

“White Fragility: Why It's So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism,” by Robin DeAngelo,

Racial Equity Institute - https://www.racialequityinstitute.com/

Music: Lucas Britt