Wild Church Anti-Racism White Accountability Group
An adaptable template for a regular (monthly) online gathering
OPENING
Our wild churches are captive to the sins of racism and white supremacy in particular ways:
creating white majority spaces that are not safe for BIPOC participants, appropriating the culture of Indigenous and other peoples, failing to respect Indigenous people’s traditional knowledge, neglecting the existing deep-rooted wilderness relationships of racialized communities.
And so we pray:
From the captivity to racism and white supremacy that denies the humanity of every human being and the prejudices within us that deny the dignity of those who are oppressed, set us free:
Creating God, have mercy.
From racism and white supremacy that keep white people and people with light skin colour privilege from knowing the destruction and harm we contribute to, Christ set us free:
Christ, have mercy.
From the ideologies that will not recognize the work of your Spirit in all cultures, races, and peoples, set us free:
Creating God, have mercy.
Forgive us when we have been silent and apathetic in the face of racial intolerance and bigotry, both overt and subtle, public and private. And from the ways that we have ignored or contributed to structural racism.
And take away the arrogance, hatred and despair that infect our hearts.
We confess before You, the Land and all creatures
that we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves.
We have allowed the sin of racism to divide us
in what we have done and what we have not done;
what we have said and what we have not said.
Give us courage to repent, to struggle for righteousness, and to love and embrace one another. Amen
CLOSING
Silence: and a chance to pray for one another and particular situations
Jesus,
who reached across the boundaries
of Samaritan, Roman, and Jew,
who offered good news to the poor and freedom to captives,
help us to break down the barriers in our communities,
enable us to see the reality of racism and white supremacy,
and free us to challenge and uproot it
from ourselves, our society, our church and our world.
Amen.
If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us, but if we confess our sins, God, who is faithful and just, will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:8-9
SCHEDULE
Arrival and Opening prayer 7 min
Check-in round -what is “live” for you in your vocation for racial justice? 15 min
Questions to determine how we spend our time: 20 min
Does anyone have requests for the group, a question or situation that you would have us focus on? (eg Perception check, workshopping a situation, critical feedback, reassurance, specific accountability practice, just hear me and don’t respond)
Mutual discernment: Did anything you heard from someone else evoke a response from you? Something you want to say, ask, feel strongly we should focus on together.
Are there resources to share or ongoing commitments to report on?
Closing Prayer 5 min
Sources