When we received funding from the Lilly Endowment to support Pastor Dave Denoon’s sabbatical, 30% of the funds were designated for a congregational Renewal that would happen concurrently. That’s how our Year of Renewal 2017 came about. A Steering Committee was formed, for the sake of developing mission renewal in the keys of faith and social justice, and specifically racial justice. We have the opportunity to reexamine our views on race and how they affect our opinions on local, national, and international events. Various subcommittees were developed to implement the Renewal Years three goals to: LEARN • EXPLORE • PARTNER.
The Year of Renewal Curriculum Committee is pleased to offer our Personal Reflections, which represent the three renewal year goals: Learn, Explore and Partner.
The posts below are personal reflections on books, movies and other media relating to our Year of Renewal, written by the Pastor Dave and the members of First Congregational Church of Webster Groves. Please click on one or all to see what we are up to.
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A Reflection on My Whiteness
Reading and discussing the book Waking Up White by Debby Irving has helped me pause to reflect on my whiteness more than I normally would in the midst of a hectic schedule. After all, doesn’t being white give us the … Continue reading →
Revelation & Reflection on The New Jim Crow – Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness
Recently I’ve had discussions revolving around a book titled The New Jim Crow – Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by legal scholar Michelle Alexander. I feel some of us, before reading the book, thought discrimination of people of … Continue reading →
A review on North Webster: A Photographic History of a Black Community by Ann Morris and Henrietta Ambrose
During this Year of Renewal, we individually and collectively have the opportunity to reexamine our views on race and how they affect our opinions of local, national, and international events. This task may be difficult and uncomfortable at times, but … Continue reading →
A Tribute to the Fallen
29 May 2017 (Memorial Day) Few of my faith community know the history of the 369th Infantry Regiment, also known as the Harlem Hellfighters. This Memorial Day post is provided in part, to remedy that omission. To learn about them … Continue reading →
Why are You on the Curriculum Committee?
When we received funding from the Lilly Endowment to support Pastor Dave Denoon’s sabbatical, 30% of the funds were designated for a congregational Renewal that would happen concurrently. That’s how our Year of Renewal 2017 came about. A Steering Committee … Continue reading →
A Reflection on Waking Up White, by Debby Irving
by Renewal Steering Committee Member Kay Roush Have you read the book, Waking Up White and Finding Myself in the Story of Race, by Debby Irving? This is an eye-opening book so relevant to our Renewal 2017. A copy is shelved … Continue reading →