Todd’s Thoughts December 2017

As part of our mission and commitment to diversity in our church and our world, we will have an all-church diversity, equity, and inclusion workshop on Saturday, December 9th, from 10:00 a.m. to noon. The workshop will be conducted by members of The Greatness of a Time Collective. GOAT “is a group of purposeful individuals united by a charge to be in contribution to the ‘greatness’ of our generation and moment.” I met Randy Corradine, one of its facilitators, during a march for racial justice earlier this year, and, upon learning of his work and hearing him present during the corresponding rally, felt he had come into my life at just the right moment. As a congregation we had just approved a budget that included funding for such training and I felt it important the work be led by qualified, experienced presenters. For the past five years GOAT has used different strategies, including HHBE (Hip-Hop Based Education) and Rap Therapy to help hundreds of youth impacted by systemic barriers and trauma, and provided a variety of such training’s to non-profits, schools, and colleges. The workshop on the December 9th will focus on two areas of Cultural Humility; Skills for engaging across cultures, and Activism that leads to change in practice and policy. As Corradine summarizes, “Be the agent for the change you want to see. Become a custodian for the change needed in the world.” Please plan to attend this important workshop!
— Rev. Dr. Todd F. Eklof, UUCS Minister