St. James Adult Education Series: Together We Learn —
A Dialogue on Racial Reckoning in our Country and our Church.
Sundays, September 13th, 20th, 27th, and October 4th, at 12:30pm.
In this education series, participants will be asked to read Dear Church: A Love Letter from a Black Preacher to the Whitest Denomination in the U.S. by Lenny Duncan. Lenny Duncan is an ELCA pastor in Vancouver, Washington. The Ellertsons have generously donated four copies of his book for people to check out. Each week we will have a different focus:
Week One – Reflections about how our past informs the present.
In addition to Duncan’s book, please read the article “The ‘mother of black Lutheranism in America’” from Living Lutheran (https://www.livinglutheran.org/2019/01/the-mother-of-black-lutheranism-in-america/).
Week Two – Why is race so hard to talk about?
For this week, pay particular attention to Chapter Four: “Dylan Roof and I are Lutheran”.
Week Three – What can St. James do to reconcile our white supremacist culture?
Be sure to read Part III of Duncan’s book and review some of the ELCA resources on racism: https://www.elca.org/Resources/Racial-Justice.
Week Four – Woman, Behold Your Son.
Besides Duncan’s book, review the Medium article “George Floyd and Jesus: A Eulogy” ().
To participate in this virtual education series, contact Mandy Ellertson and she will send you a Zoom link.
PLU’s annual Lutheran Studies Conference will also focus on systemic racism centering around Dear Church. The virtual conference will include a keynote address with Rev. Duncan on October 1st and book discussions in late September.
Registration is required for these online events. Contact the St. James office for more information.
