DHM Racial Justice Summit February 26, 2022

12:00 PM ET -3:00 PM ET / 11:00 AM CT-2:00 PM CT

10:00 AM MT-1:00 PM MT / 9:00 AM PT-12:00 PM PT

8:00 AM AT-11:00 AM AT

Active and retired deaconesses, home missioners, home missionaries, and candidates are invited to a community Racial Justice Summit where we will continue our education and work towards being interculturally competent and anti-racist.

Featured Keynote: Rev. Dr. Yvette Massey

When Yvette D. Massey was licensed into the gospel ministry in 1997, she had already earned a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Clemson University and was ministering as a registered nurse. However, she sought to minister in a more holistic manner, so she entered the Morehouse School of Religion of the Interdenominational Theological Center (ITC) in Atlanta, Georgia. There she was involved in various student organizations, including the Morehouse School of Religion Baptist Fellowship, and the International Society of Theta Phi, a theological honor society, of which she soon became president. She was a Ford Foundation Fellow during her seminary years and in 2000 she graduated with a Master of Divinity.

In 2001 Dr. Massey was ordained at Mt. Sinai Baptist Church, Pendleton, S.C., and in June of 2005, she was ordained an Elder in full connection in the North Georgia Conference of The United Methodist Church. She has participated on the following conference committees: The Council on Finance and Administration (Secretary), History and Archives, The United Methodist Children’s Home (Trustee) and most recently the Board of Ordained Ministry. Currently she is the Chair of the Order of Elders. District activities include the District Committee on Superintendence and District Committee on Finance and Administration. She also served as the president of the North Georgia Conference Black Clergy Women’s Organization. Currently Rev. Massey serves as the President of the National Black Clergy Women of The United Methodist Church.

Dr. Massey was previously the Senior Associate Pastor at Cascade United Methodist Church in Atlanta, Georgia. She has also served as the first woman Senior Pastor of Warren Memorial United Methodist Church (Atlanta, Georgia), Red Oak United Methodist Church (Stockbridge, Georgia) and the historic Central United Methodist Church (Atlanta, Georgia); the former pastorate of the Civil Rights activist Rev. Dr. Joseph Echols Lowery. She has most recently served as Associate Director of the Center for Congregational Excellence in the North Georgia Conference of The United Methodist Church. a passion for the people of God, and her mission is to reach the outcast for Christ.

Dr. Massey is a proud member of The Atlanta Suburban Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma, Theta, Inc. She has written commentary for the African American Online Lectionary and has had a sermon, “The Deciding Vote,” published in The African American Pulpit. She is also the recipient of many honors and awards. Dr. Massey has hosted her own television talk show, entitled “Bible Talk,” which aired on Atlanta Interfaith Broadcasters (AIB) and she is a much sought-after preacher and teacher.

Currently she serves as the first woman pastor of Kelley Chapel United Methodist church in Decatur, Georgia, another historical first. She enjoys serving the church and believes that parish ministry and community ministry go hand in hand. Having successfully completed her doctoral studies and defended her thesis, “The Impact of Preaching on Church Growth,” she graduated May 21, 2020 from Garret Evangelical-Theological Seminary with a Doctor of Ministry. Dr. Massey is the proud aunt of her “seven heart beats,” her nephews Marqell, Cory, Franklin, Jacob, Matthew and her nieces Katlin and Justice. She gives God thanks and praise for her blessing and greatest joy, her daughter, Yeremiah Massey.

Workshops

Sophia Agtarap is a 1.5 generation Filipina American and intercultural communicator who works alongside communities in the areas of justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion. She was consecrated as a Deaconess at UMW Assembly in 2018. She is a qualified administrator of the Intercultural Development Inventory--an assessment of intercultural competence—the capability to shift cultural perspective and appropriately adapt behavior to cultural differences and commonalities.

Deaconess Celeste Eubanks, is the Director of Leadership Strategies for the Alabama-West Florida Conference of the United Methodist Church. A native of Slidell, LA, Celeste was christened and nurtured in the Christian faith at Mt. Olive African Methodist Episcopal Church and has been a United Methodist since 2003 when she joined Toulminville-Warren St. United Methodist Church in Mobile, AL. Celeste holds a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from the University of Southern Mississippi and a Master’s degree in Communication and Leadership Studies from Gonzaga University. In addition to being a Qualified Administrator of the Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI), Celeste has facilitated conversations around race and assisted with the leadership of the Alabama-West Florida Conference’s Coalition on Disrupting and Dismantling Racism.

Next Steps in Your IDI Journey*

*NOTE: This workshop is for those who have taken the IDI and have a copy of their IDP.

Led by Deaconesses Sophia Agtarap & Celeste Eubanks

So, you’ve taken the Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI). Now what? In this workshop we help you better understand how to use your IDP to grow your intercultural competence and advance along the IDI continuum. In this workshop we’ll discuss:

The benefits of working through your IDP with a partner or group.
Navigating your IDP during a pandemic.
How to regain momentum in growing your intercultural competence and recommitting to working through your IDP.
Doing intentional work that will help you advance along the IDI continuum.
General IDI Q&A

Conversations at Crossroads

Led by Rev. Dr. Cedric Bridgforth

Participants in this workshop will engage in conversation starters with/for persons who live and serve with intersecting or conflicting identities. We will explore meaningful and compassionate postures and behaviors that support healing and vitality in this present age. This is not for those who only want to observe or hear from others.

Rev. Dr. Cedrick Bridgeforth is an Elder in the California-Pacific Conference of The United Methodist Church, where he serves as director of innovation and communication. Cedrick was born and raised in Alabama and served four years in the United States Air Force. At the age of twenty-four, Cedrick enrolled at Samford University (Birmingham, Alabama) and earned a Bachelor of Arts in Religion degree. He moved to California to attend Claremont School of Theology (Claremont, CA), where he received a Master of Divinity degree and later a Doctor of Education in Organizational Leadership degree from Pepperdine University (Malibu, CA). He founded 20/20 Leadership Lessons, a consulting firm committed to journeying leaders and organizations who seek to do good in the world. For many years Cedrick has also served as director of academic programs and outreach for the Ecumenical Center for Black Church Studies at the University of La Verne. He is the author of Alabama Grandson: A Black, Gay Minister's Passage Out of Hiding (Precocity Press) and 20/20 Leadership Lessons.

Curtiss Paul DeYoung is the CEO of the Minnesota Council of Churches. He previously served as the Executive Director of the historic faith-based racial justice organization Community Renewal Society in Chicago and the inaugural Professor of Reconciliation Studies at Bethel University in St. Paul, MN. Rev. DeYoung served on staff at congregations in Minneapolis, New York City, and Washington, DC.

Dr. DeYoung earned a Doctor of Education from the University of St. Thomas (MN) and a Master of Divinity from Howard University School of Theology (Washington, DC.)

He is an author and editor of twelve books on racial justice, reconciliation, and cultural competency. His most recent book is Becoming Like Creoles: Living and Leading at the Intersections of Injustice, Culture, and Religion (Fortress).

DeYoung is a member of Park Avenue United Methodist Church in Minneapolis.

The Intersection of Cultural Competence and Anti-Racism in the Church

Led by Rev. Dr. Curtis Paul DeYoung

Becoming Like Creoles is author Curtiss Paul DeYoung’s collaboration with six women—Black, Indigenous, Latinx, Asian, and Biracial. This workshop is a conversation about how race and culture intersect in the church by highlighting some findings from this book and also exploring the writing process itself.

Brian Germano is an ordained Elder of the North Georgia United Methodist Church, has been pastoring churches since 1989, and currently serves as Senior Pastor of McKendree United Methodist church in Lawrenceville, GA. He is the author of Christianity the Wesleyan Way: Principles and Practices for Life and Ministry (Foundery Books, 2020), a book about essential Wesleyan/Methodist Christian theology and practice available from Amazon.com and Cokesbury.com. In addition, he has participated in and led numerous church and community efforts and initiatives in racial reconciliation and the addressing of issues/practices of racial injustice and inequity in at least two of his past church appointments (in Marietta and LaGrange, GA), and has also led several such efforts at his current church in Lawrenceville, GA, including the establishment of their “Embracing Race Together in Christ” team, which explores avenues of transformation in race relations through enhanced understanding and awareness of inequities in the local and world community.

Racial Justice: Two Models for Congregational Transformation

Led by Rev. Brian Germano

In this two-part workshop, Dr. Brian Germano will share a brief overview of two models of congregational engagement used in his church (which could easily be adapted for others) in order to address issues/topics of racial justice and equity.

Part 1: Congregational Bible Studies (45 minutes)

An overview of how to use materials from F. Willis Johnson’s Holding Up Your Corner as an entry point for awareness and civil discussion of issues/topics of racial justice and equity

Part 2: Family Movie Nights (45 minutes)

An overview of how to use movies as an entry point for awareness and civil discussion of issue/topics of racial justice and equity.

Katelin Hansen, PhD (@KatelinHansen7) is a United Methodist Deaconess serving as Director of Operations for the faith-based nonprofit, Community Development for All People, and as the Minister of Music for the United Methodist Church for All People. UM Church for All People is a multirace and multiclass church engaged in authentic worship in Columbus, OH. Community Development for All People is a faith-based non-profit dedicated to building an opportunity-rich community that welcomes and empowers all people. Katelin is also the editor of By Their Strange Fruit(@BTSFblog), an online ministry facilitating racial justice and reconciliation for the sake of the Gospel. She received her doctorate degree in Neuroscience from The Ohio State University in Columbus, OH, where she studied the role of miRNA regulation in hippocampal-dependent learning and memory.

Building Relationships Across Race and Class

Led by Deaconess Katelin Hansen

Left to our own devices, humans tend to segregate based on race and class, leading to cultural isolation and uneven distribution of resources. It takes intentionally building relationships across divides to generate the bridging social capital that will facilitate more just and equitable communities. Learn key strategies to build cross-cultural relationships, as individuals and in our communities, so that together we can build the Front Porch of the Kingdom of God where all God's people can thrive.

Deaconess Anne Hillman, Ph.D. is the Director of Children, Youth, & Family Ministries at Central United Methodist Church in Detroit, MI, a position she has held since 2019. She received her Ph.D. in Constructive Theology and Theological Ethics from Boston University School of Theology in 2017. Her MA in Ecumenical Studies from Union Theological Seminary in New York was earned in 2009, and her BA in Religion from St. Olaf College in 2007. In 2014 she was consecrated as a Deaconess in The United Methodist Church and currently serves as Academic Advisor for DHM Education for the Office of Deaconess and Home Missioner.

Beginning the Work of Anti-Racism in Children's Ministry

Led by Deaconess Anne Hillman

How can we ensure that our ministry with children and youth produces young faith leaders who strive to dismantle racism and create justice? What needs to be done to dismantle racist structures and ideas from the faith formation programming we know and love? Join us for a time to share helpful resources and necessary questions for self-examination. Bring your successes, failures, and curiosities to this conversation.