​Becoming Beloved Community: Understanding Systemic Racism

The curriculum for this class explores how systemic racism has been integrated into U.S. culture from the very beginning, as well as The Episcopal Church’s history of active participation in systemic racism. The curriculum for this class offers guidance on learning from this history and building toward what The Episcopal Church’s Presiding Bishop Michael Curry describes as “the Beloved Community of God.”

The Lenten class is facilitated by Jay Weber and Fr Tommy. The videos shown during the course will be led by two experts on the topic of system racism and the church: Dr. Ivy Forsythe-Brown, associate professor of sociology at the University of Michigan-Dearborn, and the Rev. Dr. Thomas Ferguson, affiliate professor of church history at Bexley-Seabury Seminary and rector of St. John’s Episcopal Church in Sandwich, Massachusetts.

“When Jesus is raised from the dead, he calls us into a new way of being, and Jesus calls us into this process of transformation,” says Dr. Ferguson. “Part of this course will be looking back and reflection, but a significant component of this course is looking at our present and our future. The curriculum invites us into a process of transformation so we can build a better world and walk the Way of Love, as our Presiding Bishop Michael Curry calls us to.”

Each of the six sessions include half-hour videos, optional self-assessments, opportunities for discussion, take-home materials, and recommendations for further research.

If you cannot make the Sunday morning sessions, the class can be taken at each learner’s preferred pace online via St. Margaret’s Academy. Please contact Rector Tommy with any questions.