DDP coordinators Barbara Duffy and Sue Kuhn share our church’s exciting opportunity for personal conversations on race, ethnicity and culture. Discussions will be guided by ELCA convictions. All of us have something to learn from one another. Members of the congregation are invited to e-mail or phone Pastor Trozzo or Barbara Duffy before March 31 for conversations beginning in late April.
Would you like to talk with someone about diversity? What do we mean?
- Two people to have an intimate one-on-one dialog about diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI)
- Emphasize privacy and trust; sharing your thoughts, feelings, and questions – without judgment Build a meaningful, confidential relationship by exploring what can be a difficult subject
Who? When? How?
- Target audience: everyone 13-113 years of age
- Pastor Eric will pair you up with another interested member of the congregation.
- Get to know someone new or become even closer with an existing friend in Christ
- It’s a short – term commitment: once a week for four weeks – that’s all.
- No preset time, place or setting (in person, video call, Zoom, etc.); pick what works best for the two of you
Conversation – starter resources will be provided, but feel free to explore any DEI, justice, or anti-racism related topics that come up. Why this? Why now? It seems to us that there are many topics we avoid discussing. For example: illnesses of a loved one; our own death; mental health issues; drug problems; political differences, just to name a few. They sometimes bring up strong emotions from our families of origin, personal experiences, etc. We believe matters concerning Anti-racism/Diversity/ Equity/Inclusion is such a subject. Christ has clearly given us direction about the way to treat others.
Perhaps if we first look at examples of His messages from scripture, we will be guided to a better understanding of how He would want us to treat one another. Some of you have been reluctant to take part in previous events or group discussions on this topic, and we understand that. We came up with this idea of “Diversity Discussion Partners” to give you another opportunity to share your thoughts, feelings, and experiences one-on-one. We suggest you utilize scripture and prayer each time you meet.
The ELCA has developed resources to assist in this process, and we will be providing them to all participants. This is a mutual, peer/peer relationship – not teacher/student. In addition to the initial match-making, Pastor Eric has also offered to be available if you want to talk about any subject matter that comes up during your discussions, either alone or with your partner.
We invite you to become a Diversity Discussion Partner. Partners will be paired in early April and sent a packet for a target kick-off in late April. To sign-up, e-mail or call Pastor Trozzo or Barbara Duffy to let them know of your interest by March 31.
If you have any questions, please contact either of us, your Diversity Discussion Partners (DDP) coordinators: Barbara Duffy and Sue Kuhn.