Congregational Engagement

Focus Area – Racial Justice

EHF advances racial justice work to support health equity, with the goals of increasing inclusion and exchange among diverse groups, reducing discrimination, increasing solidarity, and acting to address racism across the diocese. EHF is committed to partner with congregations to build bridges of health and wholeness into communities and recognize that change requires addressing Interpersonal, Institutional and Structural Racism.

Will you seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving your neighbor as yourself? Will you strive for justice and peace among all people, and respect the dignity of every human being?
Book of Common Prayer, p. 305

In February 2020, Bishop Andrew Doyle presented the Missionary Vision for a Racial Justice Initiative. This initiative seeks to support people and communities of color across the diocese by providing training for ministry and scholarships. EHF’s racial justice work walks alongside congregations in this missionary vision to deepen knowledge, create dialogue and foster trust.

As we and our partners work to improve community health, especially among low-income and under-resourced populations, we recognize the role of racial justice work to reduce health disparities. Learn more about the connection between adverse health outcomes and discriminatory acts against racial and ethnic minorities in the EHF Issue Brief: Exploring the Linkage Between Racism and Health

EHF will connect you to congregational leaders and consultants to create a pathway to open courageous spaces for dialog and to develop localized strategies for congregational and community training.

Support for Deeper Community Partnerships
EHF’s Congregational Engagement Team can partner with your church and their work in supporting racial justice by…

– Offering trainings on racial justice and reconciliation for congregational leaders.

– Episcopal Diocese of Texas website | Together Episcopal: Dismantling Racism

– Helping enable leaders to lead transformative racial justice education in their congregations and connecting them with partners and resources like One Human Race, The Episcopal Diocese of Texas’ Office of Intercultural Development and Traces of the Trade documentary film and dialogue series.

– Bringing together congregations across the diocese to share best practices, learn, and have community.

– Working with Project Curate to develop congregation and community wide initiatives and by partnering with community leaders.

Stories from the Diocese of Texas
These examples are articles found in our bi-monthly e-newsletter, Congregation Connection, which tell stories of congregations in action, partners with expertise in the area, and general related topics.

Watch: Recording Available From In Common 2020 – Learn more about In Common 2020 which focused on racial justice.

UBE Austin Moving Forward With The One Human Race Project – Scott Madison of One Human Race, Austin, shares his racial justice work, his personal story, and his hopes for building racial solidarity across the Episcopal Diocese of Texas.

Improving #HealthNotJustHealthcare Means Standing Against Racism – EHF believes that improving healthcare includes standing against institutional racism, read more her