Researching the Black Presence in Your Congregation ~ First Session

An online workshop presented in advance of the 2021 Diocesan Indaba

The Black Presence Project website is a public spiritual repository for truth telling about the experiences of people of African descent within the Episcopal Diocese of New York from colonial times through to the present day.  The purpose of this workshop for clergy and laity is to offer guidelines for researching congregations’ Black presence history and for presenting this material for publication. The historical research guidelines presented in this workshop include both core principles and practical procedures and are applicable to any parish, no matter when it was established or what its racial makeup is now.

The workshop includes presentations of basic concepts of race-related historical research, case studies, resource descriptions and hands-on materials. Participants have opportunities for discussion and development of their own research plans. This historical research constitutes a crucial foundation for honest response to the legacies of slavery and racism.

Each session will begin with a program entitled Family Systems & Church History – Reverberations of the Past in the Present. The purpose of this program is highlight the challenges and pitfalls that parishes will inevitably face when delving into the sensitive subject of race within their own parish.

This workshop lasts two hours, and will be given by Ms. Roberta Todd, of Christ Church Riverdale and the diocesan anti-racism committee, and Ms. Jeannie Terepka of St. Michael’s Manhattan.

Please note that this is a single workshop presented 3 times. Please do not register more than once. 

Click here for the March 18 Session
Click here for the March 25 Session