Anti-Racism

H.E.A.R.T. (Holistic Equity Anti-Racism Training) Opportunity

Published on
December 19, 2024

February 7 – February 8

H.E.A.R.T. brings a unique blend of deep on-the-ground ministry experience within The United Methodist Church and a faith-based approach to anti-racist training and transformation of the United Methodists of North Carolina.

There will be two in-person retreats, covering four of the sessions, and one session on Zoom. The in-person sessions will take place at the Gary Locklear Mission Center at Branch St. UMC in Lumberton. If needed, lodging will be provided for free. There is a small $25.00 fee for snacks and meals. (There will be no refunds for this fee.)

Learn More & Register

Related Events

Native American Resources for United Methodists

Announcements Published on
November 5, 2024

The Rev. David Wilson prays with others in the United Methodist Building before the Indigenous Peoples March held Jan. 18 in Washington. Thousands of people walked from the Department of the Interior building to the steps of the Lincoln Memorial to shine a spotlight of Native America issues and concerns. UMNS photo by Erik Alsgaard, Baltimore-Washington Conference.

November is National Native American Heritage Month. Take this opportunity to learn about the history of Native Americans and their relationship to The United Methodist Church. Become inspired by Indigenous wisdom and educated about Indigenous theology. Host a book discussion or study for your congregation.

The Media Center offers the following books and studies to use individually or in small groups. We also recommend the online videos listed below. Additional resources, including DVDs and websites, are listed in our Native American Resources Pathfinder.

Online Resources

Discipleship Ministries of The UMC offers Worship Resources for Native American Heritage Month. These include liturgical resources written by United Methodists from different Native American tribal affiliations. Consider how you might use these prayers in worship this month and throughout the year.

The United Methodist Church also celebrates Native American Ministries Sunday in the Spring, giving you another opportunity to use these resources to educate your congregation. You can also use the Native American Ministries Pastor and Leader Kit.

General Commission on Religion and Race Online Resources

The General Commission on Religion and Race offers these online resources to build discussion around issues that affect the Native American community.

Ongoing Acts of Repentance with Indigenous People. Reverend Chebon Kernell calls the church to participate more vigorously in ongoing acts of repentance, justice-making, and truth-telling about the historical and continuing impact of racism, specifically on Native Americans and indigenous people. Includes discussion guide.

11 Facts about Native People in Society and The Church. This infographic by Bishop David Wilson is helpful to share online.

Doctrine of Discovery. This discussion guide was developed by Christy L. Oxendine based on the Dismantling Racism webinar segment by Dr. Lisa Dellinger (Chickasaw and Mexican). The video segment is incorporated as part of the small group discussion.

The Land Is Not Empty Book Study. This 11-session book study is based on The Land is Not Empty: Following Jesus in Dismantling the Doctrine of Discovery by Sarah Augustine. Augustine challenges Christians to interrogate their theology, investments, mindsets, and relationships with land. Most importantly, Augustine invites readers to follow the scriptural “Jesus Way” of solidarity and repair.

Remembering Forgotten Historical Figures in Native American History. This resource provides short biographies and additional resources about important figures in Native American History that most have not heard of before.

Land Acknowledgement vs. Welcome by the Original People. Many Annual Conferences and local churches want to acknowledge that they are meeting, worshipping, and living out ministry on land occupied and cared for by Indigenous people long before the Christian Church arrived. This is an honorable intent. A Welcoming Ceremony by the Original People differs significantly from a Land Acknowledgement. Both practices help non-native people learn more about those who came before them and help make visible those who have too long been invisible.

Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women

Of grave concern is the startlingly high number of missing and murdered Indigenous women whose cases largely remain unsolved. The Missing Murdered Indigenous Coalition of NC offers programs and resources to work towards the prevention and resolution of these cases. The General Board of Church & Society of The United Methodist Church has reported on this issue in the Oklahoma Indian Missionary Conference and nationwide.

Books for Study and Discussion

Living Resistance: An Indigenous Vision for Seeking Wholeness Every Day by Kaitlin B. Curtice. Curtice shows that we can learn to practice embodied ways of belonging and connection to ourselves and one another through everyday practices, such as getting more in touch with our bodies, resting, and remembering our ancestors. She explores four “realms of resistance”–the personal, the communal, the ancestral, and the integral–and shows how these realms overlap and why all are needed for our liberation.

Becoming Kin: An Indigenous Call to Unforgetting the Past and Reimagining Our Future by Patty Krawec. Weaving her own story with the story of her ancestors and with the broader themes of creation, replacement, and disappearance, Krawec helps readers see settler colonialism through the eyes of an Indigenous writer. A free discussion guide for this book is available online.

Indigenous Theology and the Western Worldview: A Decolonized Approach to Christian Doctrine by Randy S. Woodley. This volume by a Cherokee teacher, former pastor, missiologist, and historian brings Indigenous theology into conversation with Western approaches to history and theology.

Ladder to the Light: An Indigenous Elder’s Meditations on Hope and Courage by Steven Charleston. Choctaw elder and Episcopal priest Steven Charleston offers words of hard-won hope, rooted in daily conversations with the Spirit and steeped in indigenous wisdom. Native America knows something about cultivating resilience and resisting darkness. For all who yearn for hope, Ladder to the Light is a book of comfort, truth, and challenge in a time of anguish and fear.

Healing Haunted Histories: A Settler Discipleship of Decolonization by Elaine Enns and Ched Myers. Part memoir, part social, historical, and theological analysis, and part practical workbook, this process invites settler Christians (and other people of faith) into a discipleship of decolonization. How are our histories, landscapes, and communities haunted by continuing Indigenous dispossession? And how might we practice restorative solidarity with Indigenous communities today?

Native Americans, the Mainline Church, and the Quest for Interracial Justice by David Phillips Hansen. This book tells the sordid history of Native Americans and the Christian church with an eye towards reparation and what the contemporary church can do and is doing to work towards racial, economic, environmental, and social justice.

On This Spirit Walk: The Voices of Native American and Indigenous Peoples by Henrietta Mann and Anita Phillips. The Native American Comprehensive Plan of The United Methodist Church created this small-group curriculum resource to share the voices of native people on topics that are important to them. The 12 chapters focus on topics such as identity, values, storytelling, creation, justice, repentance, and more. Each chapter concludes with discussion questions.

Voices of Native American Women edited by Delrayne Roy. As a supplement to their mission study, United Methodist Women published this enlightening booklet that shares the voices of 23 Native American women of faith on a variety of topics such as voice, family, social justice, faith journeys, and their relationships with the United Methodist and the Native church.

History Books

The Lumbee Methodists: Getting to Know Them: A Folk History by Joseph Michael Smith and Meet the Lumbee Methodists, Part II by Milford Oxendine. This set of two books shares the special history of the relationship between the Lumbee Indians and the United Methodist Church in North Carolina. The stories of several churches in the NC Conference are included in these valuable histories.

The Battle of Hayes Pond: A Novel by Kaden Ryan. Ryan transports readers to 1950s Robeson County, NC. Follow Koda Locklear, a young Lumbee boy, as he confronts prejudice and witnesses a historic clash with the KKK.

Massacre at Sand Creek: How Methodists Were Involved in an American Tragedy by Gary L. Roberts. At dawn on the morning of November 29, 1864, Colonel John Milton Chivington gave the command that led to the slaughter of 230 peaceful Cheyennes and Arapahos—primarily women, children, and elderly—camped under the protection of the U. S. government along Sand Creek in Colorado Territory and flying both an American flag and a white flag. The governor whose policies led the Cheyennes and Arapahos to Sand Creek was a prominent Methodist layman. Colonel Chivington was a Methodist minister. This book tells the history of this tragedy and the role and response of the Methodist Church.

An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz. Acclaimed historian and activist Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz offers a history of the United States told from the perspective of Indigenous peoples and reveals how Native Americans, for centuries, actively resisted expansion of the US empire. This book is an essential resource providing historical threads that are crucial for understanding the present.

Giving Our Hearts Away: Native American Survival by Thom White Wolf Fass. The United Methodist Women published a Mission Study that tells the history of the United States from a Native American perspective. The histories of contemporary issues facing Native Americans are revealed. The book includes an 8-session study guide and additional resources. Youth and children’s versions are also available.

First White Frost: Native Americans and United Methodism by Homer Noley. With all of the triumphs and failures, this book gives an account of Methodists’ attempts at evangelizing Native Americans going all the way back to the 1600’s.

Youth & Children

Walking in These White Man Shoes: Youth Explore Native America and Creator Sang a Welcoming Song: Native America for Children by Ray Buckley. These mission studies include narratives of the history of what is now the United States told from a Native American perspective, telling the story of events that unfolded out of the clash of Native and immigrant cultures with their competing ideologies, religious practices, and spiritual lifestyles. Participants learn of the Native experience of trying to live in two worlds, one of which didn’t quite fit.

The Give-Away: A Christmas Story by Ray Buckley. A story rich in the Native American Tradition of the Give-Away. The animals try to help humankind find their way, but “in the end, it is the Creator who must choose to give to humankind the most precious gift of all.”

Corridor District Anti-Racism Team Meeting

Published on
October 20, 2024

Presentation of “The Talk” at Mt. Sylvan United Methodist Church

Published on
October 19, 2024

Hispanic/Latinx Resources for English & Spanish-Speaking Churches

Announcements Published on
September 18, 2024

Hispanic Heritage Month is from September 15 through October 15. The NC Conference Media Center has books, DVDs, and curricula for use in Hispanic/Latinx Ministries, including resources in Spanish. We also have resources to help English-speaking congregations learn about Hispanic/Latinx culture and social issues and engage in outreach to the Hispanic/Latinx community.

In this post, we recommend:

Books on Discipleship (Spanish)
Books for Church Leadership (Spanish)
Resources for Ministry with the Hispanic/Latinx Community (English)
Books and DVDs on Hispanic/Latinx Culture & Social Issues (Spanish and English)
Youth & Children’s Resources (Spanish and English)

These resources may be borrowed through the mail by anyone involved with a United Methodist Church in the North Carolina Conference. All you need to do is fill out the Resource Request Form.

You can find a complete list of these resources and more on our Hispanic/Latinx Ministry Pathfinder.

Libros en Español para el Discipulado

Cinco Marcas de un Metodista: El Fruto de una Fe Viva por Steve Harper. Cinco marcas de un metodista confirman nuestra identidad como genuinos y fructíferos seguidores de Cristo. Este breve libro esta diseñado para ser compartido con otras personas, ofrece una meditaciones sobre cada una de estas diferentes características.

La Evangelización Transformadora: La Manera Wesleyana de Compartir la Fe por Henry H. Knight, III y F. Douglas Powe, Jr. La explicación de Knight y Powe sobre la evangelización está impregnada de la tradición wesleyana y expone cómo el amor y la gracia de Dios llegan a cada uno de nosotros tal como los recibimos una vez, a través del don de la proclamación. Como cristianos, no debemos conservar el don que recibimos a través de la evangelización; debemos vivir lo que aprendemos en comunidad y estudio, invitando a otros a esta gracia.

Doctrina Metodista: Los Fundamentos por Ted A. Campbell. Este es un libro conciso y sencillo, Ted Campbell nos da un breve resumen de las doctrinas más importantes que la familia de denominaciones Wesleyanas comparten.

El Significado de la Santa Comunión en la Iglesia Metodista Unida por E. Byron Anderson. Este librillo de fácil uso provee una introducción sobre la interpretación de la Iglesia Metodista Unida y el entendimiento de la Santa Comunión.

Introducción a la Vida y Teología de Juan Wesley por Hugo Magallanes. En este libro, de una manera muy simple pero profunda, el Dr. Magallanes nos ofrece los rasgos más básicos del contexto socio-religioso en el que Wesley vivió en la Inglaterra del siglo XVIII.

Tres Meses en la Escuela de Juan: Estudios Sobre el Evangelio de Juan por Justo L. Gonzalez. Este libro consta de trece estudios bíblicos detallados. El lenguaje es simple con un mensaje profundo para los lectores.

Rezando en Colores: Dibujando un Camino Nuevo hacia Dios por Sybil MacBeth. Dibujar es la mitad de la oración, la otra mitad es llevar las imágenes contigo para orar durante todo el día.

Libros en Español para el Liderazgo de la Iglesia

Fiesta Jubilosa: Recursos bilingües para la Adoración por Raquel Mora Martínez, Editora General. Fiesta Jubilosa incluye 87 cantos y 59 oraciones y letanías y está disponible en ediciones para asamblea y para acompañamiento. Este nuevo recurso de adoración bilingüe fur desarrollado bajo la dirección de la Editora General, Dra. Raquel Mora Martínez, e incluye textos, música original y arreglos musicales de 91 colaboradores para la adoración bilingüe.

Fiesta Cristiana: Recursos para la Adoración por Joel Martinez y Raquel Martinez. Fiesta Cristiana es una colección bilingüe de servicios de adoración que se puede utilizar con congregaciones hispanas. Fiesta Cristiana no solo contiene servicios de adoración tradicionales, sino que también presenta servicios especiales para la cultura hispana.

La Planificación Eficaz de la Educación Cristiana: Enfoque Bíblico y Pastoral del Ministerio Educativo de la Iglesia por Fernando A. Cascante. Este libro constituye una herramienta indispensable para cualquier pastor y laico que se dedica a la tarea docente en la iglesia.

Boga mar Adentro: La Renovación Congregacional para un Discipulado De Transformación por Dan Glover y Claudia Lavy. Los autores comparan seis etapas del desarrollo espiritual con la playa y el océano, las cuales son ilustradas con las enseñanzas y el proceso de hacer discípulos/as de Jesucristo.

Santuarios Seguros: Prevención̤ del Abuso Infantil y Juvenil en la Iglesia por Joy Thornburg Melton. Esta traducción es una combinación de los libros Safe Sanctuaries® y Safe Sanctuaries® for Youth. El recurso está diseñado para líderes en congregaciones y comunidades de fe de habla hispana: pastores(as), misioneros(as) laicos(as), personas laicas, maestros(as) de educación cristiana, maestros(as) de la escuela dominical, y directores de ministerios ofrecidos durante la semana.

English Resources for Ministry with the Hispanic/Latinx Community

When Christ Lives in Us / Cuando Cristo Vive en Nosotros by Justo L. González. When Christ Lives in Us, written in both English and Spanish by the renowned author Justo L. González, explores how today’s Christians may walk with Jesus in eight specific forms and acts of ministry: calling, praying, feeding, healing, commissioning, teaching, witnessing, and giving. This bilingual resource is a combined student/leader book that includes discussion questions at the end of every chapter.

Who is My Neighbor? = ¿Quién es Mi Vecino? : Learning Spanish as Church Hospitality by Joyce Carrasco, Ruth Cassel Hoffman, and Ngoc-Diep Nguyen. Who Is My Neighbor? is a field-tested resource through which English speakers of any church and congregation can learn basic Spanish-speaking skills to be able to communicate and provide a welcoming atmosphere to the Hispanic communities surrounding them.

Viral Multiplication in Hispanic Churches: How to Plant and Multiply Disciple-Making Hispanic Churches in Twenty-First-Century America by Iosmar Álvarez. Reverend Iosmar Álvarez created this book to teach church planting leaders how to plant new, healthy, vital, and vibrant churches with multiplication DNA. Using scripture-grounded values, principles, and the author’s own testimony, this book will help reach both new and diverse Hispanic/Latino people, as well as other cultures and contexts.

Pentecost Journey: A Planning Guide for Non-Hispanic/Latino Congregations by Marigene Chamberlain and Melanie Lee Carey. This resource is intended to help congregations, districts, and conferences fulfill Christ’s mandate to make disciples, with a particular focus on helping local churches understand issues related to developing a ministry with Hispanics/Latinos.

A Future for the Latino Church: Models for Multilingual, Multigenerational Hispanic Congregations by Daniel A. Rodriguez. Through careful study of dozens of cutting-edge Latino churches across the country, Rodriguez describes how innovative congregations are ministering creatively to the next generations of Latinos. In-depth case studies reveal how gifted leaders are reaching beyond their own demographics to have lasting impact on their wider communities.

Books on Hispanic/Latinx Culture & Social Issues

The People Called Metodista: Renewing Doctrine, Worship, and Mission from the Margins by Edgardo Colón-Emeric. Church renewal burns with fiery passion among the LatinX pueblos and barrios, and this energy in Latin America can be harnessed to reform doctrine, worship, and the core purpose of Methodists. In true Wesleyan spirit, this renewal does not confine itself to Methodism, but the people called metodistas share in the movement’s fundamental calling to reform the church universal in its mission to the world.

Brown Church: Five Centuries of Latina/o Social Justice, Theology, and Identity by Robert Chao Romero. Romero explores the history and theology of what he terms the “Brown Church.” He considers how this movement has responded to injustices throughout its history by appealing to the belief that God’s vision for redemption includes not only heavenly promises but also the transformation of every aspect of our lives and the world.

Welcoming the Stranger: Justice, Compassion & Truth in the Immigration Debate by Matthew Soerens and Jenny Yang. World Relief immigration experts Matthew Soerens and Jenny Yang move beyond the rhetoric to offer a Christian response to immigration. With careful historical understanding and thoughtful policy analysis, they debunk myths and misconceptions about immigration and show the limitations of the current immigration system.

The God Who Sees: Immigrants, the Bible, and the Journey to Belong by Karen González. Immigration advocate Karen González recounts her family’s migration from the instability of Guatemala to making a new life in Los Angeles and the suburbs of south Florida. Here, too, is the sweeping epic of immigrants and refugees in Scripture. Abraham, Hagar, Joseph, Ruth: these intrepid heroes of the faith cross borders and seek refuge.

La Inmigración y la Biblia: Guía para una Bienvenida Radical by Joan M. Maruskin. This study explores the biblical and theological understandings of immigration, immigrants and migration. Participants examine what it is to be a sojourner and to live into the biblical mandate of hospitality for the strangers and aliens in our midst. Spanish and English versions of this book are available.

América Latina: La Gente y la Fe by Sonia Maria Barbosa Dias. This study examines the history of the region from pre-Colombian times until colonization and the struggle for independence. It also explores the current challenges of the nations, along with their rich art, culture, and the ongoing contributions of women. This study is available in Spanish and English versions, along with an accompanying DVD. Versions for youth and children are also available.

Documentaries

The Guestworker. The Guestworker tells the story of Don Candelario Gonzalez Moreno, a 66-year old Mexican farmer who has been coming to the U.S. since the 1960s as a farm laborer. He says he still wants to work harder than all the others as he did when he was a younger man, but now knows he just cant. Yet he is asked back, year after year, because of his commitment to hard work, his good attitude, and his long-term service to Wester Farms in North Carolina. This DVD includes subtitles in English and Spanish.

Dying to Live: A Migrant’s Journey. Dying to Live is a profound look at the human face of the immigrant. It explores who these people are, why they leave their homes, and what they face in their journey. It is a reflection on the human struggle for a more dignified life and the search to find God in the midst of that struggle. Spanish subtitles available.

The Stranger: Immigrants, Scripture and the American Dream. By highlighting biblical teaching related to immigrants, sharing compelling stories of immigrants who are also evangelical Christians, and addressing some common economic and political misconceptions, The Stranger seeks to mobilize evangelical Christians to respond to immigrants and to immigration policy in ways that are consistent with biblical principles.

Gospel Without Borders. Gospel Without Borders separates myth from fact, examines what the Bible says about the treatment of the “stranger,” shows the experiences of documented and undocumented immigrants, and provides handles for Christians to advance the common good. The documentary highlights stories in five states: Arizona, Arkansas, North Carolina, Alabama, and Iowa.

One Border, One Body: Immigration & the Eucharist. In the dry, rugged, and sun-scorched terrain where many immigrants lose their lives, bishops, priests, and lay people come together each year to celebrate the Eucharist. Like other liturgies, they pray and worship together. Unlike other liturgies, a sixteen-foot iron fence divides this community in half, with one side in Mexico and the other in the United States.

A Class Apart: A Mexican American Civil Rights Story. This American Experience film tells the little-known story of an underdog band of Mexican American lawyers who took the case, Hernandez v. Texas, all the way to the Supreme Court, where they challenged Jim Crow-style discrimination against Mexican Americans. In the landmark legal case, lawyers forged a daring legal strategy, arguing that Mexican Americans were “a class apart” and did not neatly fit into a legal structure that recognized only blacks and whites.

Youth & Children’s Resources

Our collection also includes picture books that are in English and Spanish on the same page, and several of our animated children’s DVDs include captions or language tracks in Spanish.

Understanding & Relating to Latino/a Youth: A Toolkit for Bilingual and Intergenerational Conversations by Marcos Canales, Jennifer Guerra Aldana, Daisy Rosales, and Brad Griffin; Translation by Ronald Guerra and Rosa Ramirez. This comprehensive 43-page guide is the perfect handbook for any adult looking for a starting point in conversations with today’s Latina/o youth. The handbook is translated in English and Spanish. It includes an overview of the reality Latina/o youth face, fundamental principles of conversation, plus 30+ questions and ideas for next steps.

Zona Bíblica. Zona Bíblica es un programa lleno de diversión, que puede utilizarse durante la Escuela Dominical o durante la semana. Cada trimestre contiene materiales dirigidos a tres grupos de edades: Pre-escolar (de 3 a 5), primarios menores (de 6 a 8) y primarios mayores (de 9 a 11). Zona Bíblica es un currículo innovador con el que los niños y niñas se divertirán, conocerán la Biblia íntimamente y desarrollarán su amor por las Escrituras.

Cosas para Hacer y Crear en Cuaresma y Pascua por Martha Bettis Gee. Cuaresma: Miercoles de Cenizia, Recordamos a Jesus, Domingo de Ramos, Semana Santa: Jueves Santo, Viernes Santo, Domingo de Resurreccion: Simbolos de Pascua, Cosas para hacer: Actividades por edades. An English version is also available.

Luis y Mia / Mia and Luis by Mónica Reyna y L.J. Zimmerman. This flip-over book tells the story of a cross-cultural friendship from each child’s perspective. Luis is the child of Mexican immigrants, and Mia is a white American child. Their story begins when Mia makes a culturally insensitive remark to Luis. Prayer and thoughtful conversations with family help Luis and Mia move past this rocky start and develop a lasting friendship. For ages 6-9. Both stories are in English and Spanish.

Miracle of the Poinsettia / Milagro de la Flor de Nochebuena by Brian Cavanaugh and Carmen Lopez-Platek. Maria wanted to make a very special gift for the Christ Child. A retelling of the traditional Mexican folktale of the origin of the Poinsettia.

Additional Resources

For a complete list of our resources for Hispanic/Latinx Ministries, view our Hispanic/Latinx Ministry pathfinder.

You can also try searching our online catalog for “Spanish” to discover 140+ resources that use the Spanish language.

Online Resources

The Pentecost Challenge: Liturgical Resources for the Church to Decenter and Dismantle Whiteness, Colonialism, and Patriarchy in Christian Worship. Discipleship Ministries of The United Methodist Church has published The Pentecost Challenge. It is a digital platform that provides a library of liturgical resources and worship for the whole church that pulls from the Latinx reality and the experience of multicultural/bicultural, cross-racial/cross-cultural ministry and settings. This resource is Christ-centered, emerging, contextual, relevant, and centered in liberation theology and social justice to enhance the worship experience of multicultural, bilingual/bicultural worship experiences but also congregations that are striving to be more inclusive in their public worship witness as the body of Christ.

National Plan for Hispanic/Latino Ministries. This initiative from The United Methodist Church offers a curriculum for leadership development along with additional booklets In English and Spanish, including “Know Your Rights.”

The General Commission on Religion and Race offers this infographic for Hispanic Heritage Month.

Featured image by Kathleen Barry, United Methodist Communications

H.E.A.R.T. Experience

Events Published on
September 11, 2024

You Are Invited!

We extend a heartfelt invitation to you for a transformative journey through the H.E.A.R.T. (Holistic Equity Anti-Racism Training) Experience.

Learn more about the H.E.A.R.T. Curriculum→

This experience will underscore the significance of discipleship and resonate deeply with our shared Christian responsibility to actively engage in the process of personal and societal transformation. With this divine calling in mind, we are pleased to introduce the Anti-Racism Process. Designed for those who have a call for Holistic Equity and Anti-Racism transformation and who are, or will be, entrusted with the sacred duty of educating fellow members within their districts and local congregations, this process reflects the essence of our Christian responsibility in promoting racial equity.

We will:

Build a Biblical and Theological foundation for the H.E.A.R.T. (Holistic Equity Anti-Racism Training) work.
Encourage regular critical self-reflection in the light of the Word of God and foster a diverse community with accountability systems for racial healing.
Be a catalyst for recognizing and changing power imbalances.
Promote personal and institutional accountability.
Give the NCC and Church a common language to change the Church’s culture.

Schedule
We are ready to begin our third cohort. The training consists of 5 one-day sessions spread out over ten months. Dates for Cohort #3: 2024-2025:

October 1 (Introduction: 10 am to Noon)
Training Sessions
- October 8
- December 10
- February 11
- April 8
- June 5

Each training session will start at 9:00 AM, and the length will vary between 5 and 6 hours with a lunch break, depending on the topic. In order to successfully complete the H.E.A.R.T. experience, participants must commit to attending all 5 (virtual) sessions as well as additional homework assignments and to participate in a small group meeting between sessions.

Zoom Use
Please note that you will need to be able to access the Zoom platform in order to fully participate in the H.E.A.R.T. experience. Due to the sensitive and sacred nature of our content, we will require on-screen participation. We are unable to accommodate dial-in-only participation at this time.

Access Needs
If you are registering for this event and have any access needs, please get in touch with ycorrea@nccumc.org to see if we can provide any needed assistance.

More Information & Questions

Where’s my access link?

If you don’t have access to your Zoom link or encounter problems with registration, we ask that you first check your spam folder. If you cannot find your Zoom link, please email the H.E.A.R.T team at ycorrea@nccumc.org. We try to respond to urgent requests within 24 hours of receipt. For all other requests, please allow up to 2 business days to respond.

Scholarships

As an initiative designed and curated by the NCCUMC, we invite you to participate in biblically informed Christian training to equip the Church to inspire a spiritual transformation toward racial healing. This training is open to all. Some participants will choose to become facilitators equipped to guide others through this journey of growth and understanding. Our goal is to train a pool of potential facilitators who will carry this experience across the state and reach the thousands of UMC laity and clergy.

The cost to participate in a cohort is $2,500 per participant; however, the NCCUMC is offering a full scholarship to those dedicated laity and clergy who are committed to engaging in this process. Cohorts are limited; apply now.

Becoming a Facilitator: Your Pathway to Impact

The role of a H.E.A.R.T. facilitator is pivotal in driving our mission of promoting racial equity and transformation. Your journey towards becoming a trainer will be based on your experience, ability to lead groups effectively, and your dedication to the cause as assessed by the Race Equity & Justice Ministries Office in collaboration with the District Superintendents.

Criteria for Facilitators

There is an application to be considered to be a facilitator. We will evaluate your exposure through previous training, particularly those focused on racial equity. Your familiarity with the content, your commitment to the spiritual discipline of anti-racism, your ability to facilitate discussions, and your commitment to fostering an inclusive and enlightening environment will be taken into account. We value your experience in navigating these important discussions and creating spaces for growth and understanding anti-racism as a spiritual discipline. Our hope is to have an exponential impact on the culture of the church of the North Carolina Conference.

Ready to Lead

Readiness to become a H.E.A.R.T. facilitator is a combination of your experience, exposure, and passion. Those who demonstrate a deep understanding of race equity principles and an ability to manage group dynamics will be extended an invitation to facilitate the H.E.A.R.T. experience.

We appreciate your dedication to promoting racial equity and invite you to continue your journey with us.

What about other training?

While we encourage broad exposure to learning and training materials, we consider the H.E.A.R.T. experience to be the primary vein of equipping those in the NCCUMC. It is essential to recognize that while our in-house training holds inherent advantages, there are instances where external training programs can prove valuable, particularly when addressing specialized subjects or welcoming new viewpoints and community insights. By harmonizing in-house and external training, we create a holistic learning trajectory that will enrich our collective understanding within our congregations.

Dates for Cohort #1: 2023-2024

September 25
December 4
February 12
April 8
June 3

Dates for the Cohort #2: 2024

March 7
April 4
June 6
September 5
December 5

Dates for Cohort #3: 2024-2025

October 8
December 10
February 11
April 8
June 5

Gateway District: 2025

Space

Due to the nature of this training experience, participants will require individual and small-group support. Thus, our virtual cohorts will only be able to accommodate a limited number of participants.

I have additional questions.

Please get in touch with ycorrea@nccumc.org with any additional questions.

Image by congerdesign from Pixabay

Anti-Racism

February 7 – February 8

Related Events

Online Resources

General Commission on Religion and Race Online Resources

Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women

Books for Study and Discussion

History Books

Youth & Children

Libros en Español para el Discipulado

Libros en Español para el Liderazgo de la Iglesia

English Resources for Ministry with the Hispanic/Latinx Community

Books on Hispanic/Latinx Culture & Social Issues

Documentaries

Youth & Children’s Resources

Additional Resources

Online Resources

More Information & Questions

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