Table Talk: Conversations on Race, Inclusion, and More

How to Implement Anti-Racism Ministries II

Rev. Robert G. Johnson (St. Mark UMC, Wichita, KS) shares practical ways that churches can implement anti-racism ministries and create awareness.

About the Speaker:

Rev. Johnson has served as pastor for more than twenty-five years in a variety of ministry contexts, including inner-city, suburban, rural, college towns, college campus ministry, cross-cultural, cross-racial, a church startup, assisted-living facilities, large churches, and a megachurch. 

Additionally, Robert serves on the boards of Kansas Interfaith Action, a public policy advocacy organization; Humankind Ministries, a nonprofit focused on housing for those experiencing homelessness; and the Boys and Girls Club of Wichita. He also serves on the advisory board of the College of Health Professions of Wichita State University. He is a cofounder of Nehemiah Village, Inc., a faith-based housing development for formerly incarcerated men.

He has a B.S. in psychology from the University of Southern Mississippi, and an M.Div. from Perkins School of Theology/Southern Methodist University. 

How to Implement Anti-Racism Ministries I

Rev. Dr. Giovanni Arroyo, General Secretary of the General Commission on Religion and Race, shares ways that your church can implement anti-racism ministries.

About the Speaker:

As General Secretary of the General Commission on Religion and Race, The Rev. Dr. Giovanni Arroyo is the lead official of the denominational agency that cultivates racial inclusion and the full participation of all people into the work, witness, and life of The UMC. The Rev. Dr. Arroyo is responsible for modeling behavior both corporate and personal that follows the scriptural mandate for unity among many: For even as the body is one and yet has many members, though they are many members yet one body, we are all members of the one body, the body of Christ.” (1 Corinthians 12)

What is MLK’s ”Beloved Community?” II

Rev. Erwin Lopez and Alice Williams continue the discussion on MLK's Beloved Community.

About the Speakers:

Rev. Erwin Lopez comes from a diverse background. He was born in Venezuela, his father is from Guatemala, his stepmother is from the Philippines and his half-brothers are from Spain. He graduated from Florida International University in Miami with degrees in Psychology, Sociology, and Anthropology. After his undergraduate studies he worked as a substance abuse counselor. He later pursued his Masters of Divinity from Duke Divinity School focusing on liberation theology and the theology of MLK. He also helped build the Hispanic House of Studies at Duke Divinity School, a resource center for students, pastors, and congregations to help support their efforts within the Latinx community in the US. He has served in numerous pastoral roles in Latino, African American, multicultural, and white churches. Currently, he is serving an inclusive, anti-racist ministry at the University of Central Florida. He is also a facilitator for the FLUMC Beloved Community specializing in awareness.

Alice Williams is the Florida Conference Co-Lay Leader and the co-convener of the Beloved Community. She is the president of Williams Consulting of Florida and serves as Flotilla Staff Officer – Public Affairs in the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary. She is dedicated to supporting faith-based and nonprofit organizations in achieving their mission through human resource and leadership development consulting. A lifelong Methodist, Williams has served on the Bishop’s Strategic Leadership Team, as a member of the East Central District Committee on Ordained Ministry, and member of the Conference Board of Ordained Ministry. Williams holds a Bachelor of Science in business administration with a concentration in marketing from the University of Central Florida and a Master of Business Administration from Rollins College Crummer Graduate School of Business

What is MLK’s “Beloved Community?” I

Dr. Miguel A. De La Torre (Iliff School of Theology) discusses the Beloved Community and the believer's ethical responsibility in a time of hopelessness.

About the Speaker:

Dr. Miguel De La Torre is an international scholar, documentarian, novelist, academic author, and scholar activist. The focus of Dr. De La Torre’s academic pursuit is social ethics within contemporary U.S. thought, specifically how religion affects race, class, and gender oppression. He has authored over a hundred articles and published forty-one books (six of which won national awards). He presently serves as Professor of Social Ethics and Latinx Studies at the Iliff School of Theology in Denver.

How to Talk to People about Race II

Rev. Robert G. Johnson (St. Mark UMC, Wichita, KS) gives viewers practical tips on how to have difficult conversations on race -- even with those you disagree with!

About the Speaker

Rev. Johnson has served as pastor for more than twenty-five years in a variety of ministry contexts, including inner-city, suburban, rural, college towns, college campus ministry, cross-cultural, cross-racial, a church startup, assisted-living facilities, large churches, and a megachurch. 

Additionally, Robert serves on the boards of Kansas Interfaith Action, a public policy advocacy organization; Humankind Ministries, a nonprofit focused on housing for those experiencing homelessness; and the Boys and Girls Club of Wichita. He also serves on the advisory board of the College of Health Professions of Wichita State University. He is a cofounder of Nehemiah Village, Inc., a faith-based housing development for formerly incarcerated men.

He has a B.S. in psychology from the University of Southern Mississippi, and an M.Div. from Perkins School of Theology/Southern Methodist University. 

How to Talk to People About Race I

Dr. Amey Victoria Adkins-Jones (Boston College) and Dr. Gerald Liu (Global Board of Higher Education and Ministry) discuss how we can have conversations with people about the topic of race.

About the speakers:

Dr. Amey Victoria Adkins-Jones is Assistant Professor of Theology and African Diaspora Studies at Boston College. Amey Victoria Adkins-Jones is a theologian and black studies scholar with expertise in Mariology, theological anthropology, and womanist and black feminist thought.

Dr. Gerald Liu is Director of Collegiate Ministries, Initiatives, and Belonging for the The United Methodist Church - Global Board of Higher Education and Ministry. He is ordained in the United Methodist Church and holds a PhD in Homiletics and Liturgics (preaching and worship) from Vanderbilt University. He has previously served churches full time in Greater Atlanta and Nottingham, England as a youth, associate, and lead minister.

 

The History of Race in Florida II

In this episode, Rev. Dr. Anne Burkholder chronicles the history of racism as it pertains to Methodism in Florida.

About the Speaker:

Dr. Anne Burkholder recently retired from the Candler School of Theology where she was the Associate Dean of Methodist Studies and Professor in the Practice of Ecclesiology and Church Leadership. 

In addition to her role as Professor in the Practice of Ecclesiology and Church Leadership, the Rev. Dr. Anne Burkholder was the first faculty member at Candler to hold the title of associate dean of Methodist Studies, responsible for the credentialing and relocation needs of Methodist students. Burkholder also supervised the training of local pastors in The United Methodist Course of Study School at Emory, and oversaw other United Methodist lifelong learning opportunities sponsored by Candler. 

Her research interests include pastoral ethics, United Methodist polity, global Methodism, and the intersectionality of issues of race, gender, and sexuality in the history of Methodism.

The History of Race in Florida I

In this special one-on-one, Rev. Geraldine McClellan shares her personal experiences dealing with racism growing up as a black woman in Florida and the racism she endured within the Church as the first black woman ordained in the Florida Conference.

About the Speaker:

Rev. Geraldine McClellan is a native Floridian who graduated from Bethune-Cookman College and Gammon Theological Seminary with a Masters of Religious Education and a Masters of Divinity. Ordained a Deacon in 1980, she was the first Black woman ordained in the Florida Conference. Now a retired ordained Elder (Florida Conference), she has served as a campus minister and a District Superintendent. Geraldine is a certified Clinical Counselor with the Association of Pastoral Care and Counseling and a certified Chaplain with the VA Hospital. Geraldine has a pastor’s heart and unlimited love for God’s people.