What We Learned from the 2023 Racial Equity Summit
 
By The Rev. Meghan Ryan, Leslie Corey, and Tony Corey
 
In early November of 2023, eight members of the Diocese of Missouri attended St. Louis’ 2023 Racial Equity Summit. The summit’s theme was "Together We Rise: The Power of Community." Organizers had three key goals for this event: Awareness of Inequity, Understanding of Why Inequity Exists, and Transforming Towards Equity. The three-day event included speeches from local and national leaders who offered important messages of challenge, accountability, and hope. Multiple curriculum tracks at workshops provided a wide range of engagement opportunities for “participants at all levels, from beginners to seasoned organizers and nonprofit leaders.”
 
The following are perspectives from three of the Diocesan attendees:
 
Leslie Corey
There were about 500 attendees from throughout the St. Louis area. The keynote speaker was poet Nikki Giovanni. Nikki spoke of the predictable endangerment of African-Americans because the environment predicts gun deaths. She spoke of the unspeakable loss of loved ones as a transition, not a death and looking to faith, and family for grounding.

We heard from Dr. Kanika Cunningham, Director of the St. Louis County Health Department, about the disparities in health for African-Americans and on her focus on Phase 1 of the When Shooting Stops campaign. We also heard from Dr. Mati Hiatshuwajo, the Director of the City of St. Louis Health Department.

Breakout sessions for white folks addressed subjects such as white supremacy and cultivating psychological safety by interrupting white supremacy, the four stages of psychological safety (inclusion, learning, contributing, and challenging).  We learned that fear of conflict, either or thinking, right to comfort, individualism, and urgency are all characteristics of white supremacy. Other breakout sessions included grant making to black owned businesses, educational equity, and justice and reparations.

My biggest takeaway from the summit was a new understanding of some of the characteristics of white supremacy including things like black and white thinking, power hoarding, urgency, perfectionism, right to comfort, and individualism. Believing that I can always be neutral is a falsehood. I feel more aware of how I present when I am with people of color because of this understanding.  

The summit brought people from all over the region together and gave people a chance to meet and mingle and walk away with new connections and action plans.
 
 
Tony Corey
This summit offered me valuable new learnings and enriched some familiar concepts at several different levels. The main room speakers offered insightful, high-level perspectives while the workshops dug deeper into specific topics and issues.
 
The Rev. Bethany Johnson-Javois, President and CEO of Deaciness Foundation, invited us to be in covenant relationships, look to the Holy Spirit and not the will of the people. Critique systems and energize people. The future is already here, it’s just unevenly distributed!
 
The event’s keynote speaker, poet, author, and activist Nikki Giovanni took us down paths sacred and not so sacred. Here is one: we should have four things in life: a good friend, a hobby, a second drink, and Faith.
 
Day-one moderator and strategy consultant Rebecca Bennet shared with us a metaphor comparing a prairie fire and racism. If you wish to hear it, invite me for that second beer or coffee. It is worth the time.
 
A workshop entitled “Empowered Anti-Racist Leadership” offered a three-tier model for building a leadership “eco system” that revolves around:

• Individual Learning: Building antiracist and equitable mindsets and practices.

• Interpersonal actions: Linking arms with people in our community to do the work effectively. Finding a “coalition of the willing.” (Great words.)
• Institutional transformation: Collectively creating new systems and structures that center equity and liberation.

 
This workshop offered much more depth beyond this framework. I am praying on how to apply this to my own growth, and that of our communities within the diocese.
 
Another workshop described the white supremacy culture that Leslie mentioned. This dominant culture lives in the white body and requires intentional actions to modify. The facilitators of this workshop used some exercises from Resmaa Menekem’s book, My Grandmother’s Hands, which is featured in a session of the Episcopal Church’s Sacred Ground program.
 
I am most grateful to the diocese for being a sponsor of this event. The facilitator of the white caucus session defined humility as: “I don’t know what I don’t know.” I will not lose sight of that. With God’s help.

 
The Rev. Meghan Ryan
The St. Louis Racial Equity Summit is a "must attend" event for me from now on. The Summit occurs every other year and gathers those involved in racial equity work in our city/county to talk, collaborate, and learn from one another. Each session I attended had something I had never heard before, something I had not been exposed to. While the Summit was certainly educational, the most heartening thing was to see the sheer number of people in our community that are committed to the work of racial justice. Our community is full of people that are marching in the light of God, using their gifts and skills in unique ways. It was a glimpse of the Kingdom. Put it on your calendar for 2025! 

By Joy Rouse

​In the spring of 2022, a St. Timothy's member had the inspiration that our parish could support an Afghan refugee family as they resettled in St. Louis after fleeing the chaos in Afghanistan in 2021. That inspiration blossomed into the "A-Team," which is a group of dedicated and loving volunteers who have helped a family acclimate to life in St. Louis.
Fast forward to today for an update on the team's work:

What a unique experience the St. Timothy’s Afghan Team is having as we continue to work with our refugee family of nine! The “A Team,” short for Afghan Refugee Family Support Team, is led by Karen Luecking, with group members Steve Crock, Susan Moenkhaus, LaVerne Moseley, Joy Rouse, and Mary Saggau. We have met many challenges as we’ve worked to make a difference in the lives of our family members despite the huge language barrier and significant cultural differences.
 
It’s been over a year now since we started working with our family. Starting in February 2022, we received training from the International Institute-STL and later the Immigrant Home English Learning Program (IHELP), with first visits to the family’s home in April 2022. The many hurdles the family members and our intrepid volunteers have faced is mind boggling.
 
St. Louis is not without agency support to offer, but the need is great. Navigating that bureaucratic and logistical maze is not the easiest task in the world! Gifts of money, clothes, diapers, toys, bedding, appliances, etc., demonstrate the generosity of St. Tim’s parishioners. We think some of the items we gave found their way to the homes of other Afghan refugee families. 
 
There was also the physical work of helping them move from one house to another and making some repairs and installations along the way. And of course, there was the challenging mental work of trying to help them under-stand our banking system and the best way to pay bills that fit with how the father wanted to manage money.
 
Our focus now is on empowering the family to continue their growth in handling things on their own, and on helping the mother learn English. Joy and Susan visit their home in South St. Louis weekly with lessons for her and attention and toys for the little ones (ages 1 ½ and 3 years). The other five boys have been in school, and now we‘ll see what summer brings. 
 
The mother’s task is enormous. She is illiterate in Pashto, her native language, so we can’t just show her something translated into Pashto to try to explain English content. She is very busy with cooking, cleaning, and everything it takes to care for a family of nine. She doesn’t get out much and cannot attend any classes that various local agencies offer. We continue a lot of experimenting because some of the curriculum we’ve been provided just doesn’t fit with her needs. But it does seem we’re in a bit of a groove now, and her progress in communication is showing—with understanding, speaking, reading, and writing.
 
Our prayers continue. At this point that includes asking for God’s gift of stamina and creativity so that the mother, in particular, keeps working on English and is always available for the lessons, and that we keep discovering new ways to encourage her efforts.  The phrase “starting from square one” has never held more meaning for us!  
 
We have our lighter moments, too, and know that laughing is a universal language. Mary, whose primary role has been to teach the father about money in the United States and how to pay for things, also ended up teaching one of the boys how to ride a bike! It happened spontaneously and was a delight to everyone. We’re grateful for all the times we’ve shared laughter and joy.
 
The caring we have for this family is genuine and strong.  Plus, the mutual appreciation we have for each other with our varied skills and talents plays an important role in the help we’ve been able to provide. Ministry is good!  

Please watch the video below to learn about our journey with this wonderful family.

I attended Murray State University and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in theatre. I am a 2011 graduate of Virginia Theological Seminary. After ordination, I served at churches in the Diocese of Kentucky. After that, I was called as the Rector of Trinity Episcopal Church in Clarksville, TN. During my six-year tenure, Trinity grew in number and in spirit, with a renewed focus on outreach and evangelism.

I served as the board president of a local nonprofit that provides mental health care to veterans and first responders, as well as serving as the vice president of the ministerial association for several years. I am also a member of Gathering of Leaders, an organization “committed to connecting young, creative, proven clergy-leaders in the Episcopal church.”

Most recently, I served as the Associate Rector of Formation and Pastoral Care at Christ Episcopal Church in Ponte Vedra Beach, FL. It was a wonderful opportunity to work in a large church setting and see authentic church growth in action. 

Soon enough you’ll learn what I’m "all about”. But for now, let me say this. So much of what I know about God, Jesus, and the Church comes from being in relationship with other people. Every conversation is a new revelation of the divine, each interaction a new experience of something holy. This isn’t a coincidence. It’s God’s intention for us.

Through my interview and call process with St. Timothy’s, I knew that something wonderful was unfolding. I felt the call of the Spirit. And it didn’t come from your beautiful church building or the wonderful programs or even from the inspiring worship. The call came from being in conversation with the people of St. Timothy’s. The call came from the joy you all have just being with one another. That is special and important. I look forward to being part of many, many of your conversations in the years to come. And I especially look forward to seeing God revealed in our new relationship. 

Looking forward in joy and anticipation,

Meghan+

The Rev. Meghan Ryan ​