Sacred Ground in Action
Introduction
An important ministry of racial reconciliation in the Episcopal Church is Becoming Beloved Community. The Cathedral, in the wake of the events of 2020, undertook several conversations about race in the summer of 2020, including Sacred Ground. Over 110 participants engaged in 10 groups to learn about the history of race in America, the Episcopal Church, and the ways racism has shaped and is inextricably tied to our present state.
Our baptismal covenant calls us not only to learn, but also to “strive for justice and peace among all people” and to “seek and serve Christ in all persons.” We are called as the Church not only to understand ideas, but to strive to live God’s call for peace and justice in the world around us.
Sacred Ground in Action (SGIA) is a ministry where we can come together as a community to re-center voices of color, to make amends for the past, and to raise up those who have historically been put down due to the sin of racism. With the baptismal covenant as our guide, love is our primary motivation.
SGIA has a Steering Committee which meets monthly. It is organized into three primary forms of action: Congregational Action, Education, and Individual Action. There is an open town hall to discuss and plan for action on a current issue on the second Sunday of the month at 6:00 pm (currently on Zoom). Click here to view the Dean’s conversation with Rob Ewell about this emerging ministry.
SGIA TOWN HALLS
“Town halls” are held on the 2nd Sunday of the month at 6pm. These conversations are open to all and are held on Zoom. Please note that each conversation will be recorded.
Watch the inaugural SGIA townhall where host Rob Ewell led us in a panel discussion on policing, chokeholds, George Floyd, and police budgets.
Resources
This site is a work in progress; check back soon for active links to help you participate in racial justice work.
Congregational
- Monthly town hall meetings with a focus on taking action
- Partner with other congregations/ organizations
- Review of Episcopal Church’s Racial Justice audit with actions we can take at St Pauls
Educational
- Launch new Sacred Ground Circles
- Equip and facilitate small groups –books like Caste
- Movies with informative content
Individual Actions- What you can do now:
- Check out “Revisiting Jimmy’s Oriental Gardens”, October 30, 2021, 4 to 5:30 p.m.
Tour the exhibit of “Jimmy’s Oriental Gardens” which served the community of Santa Barbara and was the last Chinese-run business in new Chinatown.
Support black-owned businesses. Click here for a regularly-updated list.
- Stacey Abrams on 3 Ways Votes Are Suppressed
- Protect voting rights
- Get out the vote!
- Advocate for BIPOC individuals to become board members within private and non-profit organizations to influence policy changes.
- Write your elected officials
- Join the Episcopal Public Policy Network
- Join organizations like:
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) - Union of Black Episcopalians
- Center for Racial Healing
- Showing Up for Racial Justice (SURJ)
- Black Lives Matter
- Equal Justice Initiative
- National Police Accountability Project (NPAP)
- National Urban League
- National Action Network
- Campaign Zero: addressing police violence
- And more to come. Submit your actions to info@stpaulcathedral.org (subject line: “SGIA action ideas”)
Pray, vigil, rally, protest in solidarity with our BIPOC family and against the sin of racism.
A Prayer for Racial Justice By Marjorie Miller
Wake us, O God, so that the sin of racism is purged from this land; break down the barriers that oppress all people of color; strengthen our resolve to work personally for justice; deliver us from complacency, indifference, and a return to the status quo; protect all who protest and all who are commissioned to protect and to serve; heal our addiction to privilege and power; and lead us, by your grace, to build your new community of love; we ask this in the name of Jesus, our brother. Amen.
