(Formerly Known as the Racial Justice Mission Group)
Mission Statement
Expressing God's love through Anti-Racism work
At our monthly meeting the agenda includes learning, as well as, planning action steps. We organized years ago and welcome new members. Those interested may request a contact by sending a request to nhcucc@nhcucc.org.
Learning & Planning:
White Nationalism, Contemporary Racism and the Christian Church
On January 6, white nationalists stormed the Capitol leaving behind destruction, death, and a shocked country. What is white nationalism? What is the relationship between white nationalism and contemporary racism? What is the role of the Christian Church? How do we address racialized trauma?
Watch a replay of this enlightening discussion of these questions and more facilitated by Rev. Dr. Velda Love, Racial Justice Minister, United Church of Christ. This event, sponsored by the Racial Justice Mission Group through your OCWM offerings, was originally held on February 20th via Zoom.
Bibliography of Selected Anti-Racism and Racial Justice Resources:
The Anti-Racism Ministries Group has curated a Bibliography of Selected Resources designed to provide current and relevant information on many aspects of racial justice work, including Racism, Anti-Racism, White Privilege, Implicit Bias, History, Reparations, and much more. Works include primarily books, but also many web-based resources including audio, video, blogs, and many helpful web pages. There is a separate section containing books of interest specifically to Pastors, and also a section listing many books for Children and Youth. We hope this resource is helpful.
Resolution and Process Guide:
The Resolution of Christian Witness in Support of New Hampshire Conference United Church of Christ Congregations Awakening to Racial Justice, was adopted by the gathered body at the Annual Meeting, on October 20, 2018. The resolution was a call to the churches of the NH Conference to take action in undoing racism, including both individual acts of racial bigotry and systemic racism.
To assist our pastors and churches, the Anti-Racism Ministries Group of the New Hampshire Conference has developed this Menu of Anti-Racism Actions to further your efforts in anti-racism work. It will be updated regularly, so please check back often.
At Prepared to Serve 2022 the First Congregational Church, UCC, in Hopkinton presented a workshop sharing their journey to Becoming a Racial Justice Church. This is the first church in the New Hampshire Conference to become a Racial Justice Church. Resources from that workshop can be found below:
- Watch a replay of the workshop session: https://youtu.be/mBc3XFKSLVc
- Download the presentation slides >>
- Download the resource list >>
- Download a sample Covenant >>
- Download Sample Q&As >>
Not to be missed:
- https://reflections.yale.edu/article/seeking-light-notes-hope/george-floyd-s-last-words-stitched-our-souls
The Sacred Ally Quilt Project, a collaboration of UCC churches across the New Hampshire conference, quilting the last words of George Floyd. - Angie Boynton Podcast. Angie Boynton is a graduating senior at Souhegan High School and a member of the Senior High Youth Group at the Congregational Church of Amherst, NH. Her dedication to racial justice in New Hampshire is highlighted in her most recent project: Unlocking New Hampshire, a podcast that explores the problem of mass incarceration in the United States as a whole, and the state of New Hampshire specifically. This podcast is the applied piece of Angie’s Senior Project, a prerequisite for graduation at SHS that requires months of research and community engagement. Angie will be a freshman at Suffolk University in the fall of 2020.
- Racial Justice Theological Roundtable: In this conversation several members of the New Hampshire Conference UCC Anti-Racism Ministries Group (formerly Racial Justice Mission Group) explore how passages from Amos 5, Galatians 3:26-28, and Acts 4:29 speak to the racial justice work we are called to be about. (Posted June 5, 2020)
- How to be an interrupter - A white person's guide to activism
By Aaryn Belter (From San Diego City Beat, July 20, 2015) - How communities of color in NH are being affected by COVID-19
- Bryan Stevenson Changing America's Racial Narrative: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jzPUmQfo3B8
- Microaggressions Examples
- The national office of the UCC has excellent racial justice resources and curriculum.
-White Privilege: Let's Talk - A Resource for Transformational Dialogue.
This curriculum can be downloaded at: http://privilege.uccpages.org/
-Sacred Conversations to End Racism is an online training program offered by the national staff
to train racial justice trainers
-All-church Book Read with Jennifer Harvey, author of "Dear White Christians" - The NHCUCC One Conference: One Book initiatives have included "Color Me Included" by Rev. Deborah Knowlton and "Waking up White" by Debby Irving.
Look for:
- The Anti-Racism Ministries Group workshops at the annual Prepared to Serve conference each February. Workshop titles in the past included: White Privilege, Implicit Bias, Awakening to Racial Justice 101, Reparations, Beyond White Supremacy, Forgive Us Our Trespasses (About Microaggressions), Cash Value of Whiteness, and Building the Beloved Community.
- The Anti-Racism Ministries Group also organizes sessions during the fall Annual Meeting when an opportunity arises, or a pre-Annual meeting event. In 2017 we held a full day workshop with Keynote Speaker Bishop Dwayne Royster.
- The ARM, along with the NH Conference Clergy Support Ministry, sponsored Clergy Day 2018 featuring Rev. Karen Georgia Thompson on “Preaching Beyond Black History Month”.
- Members of the ARM are available to offer training or to preach at your church. Contact the New Hampshire Conference office: nhcucc@nhcucc.org for more information.