When the Antiracism Task Force (ARTF) of the presbytery formed in 2016 after the murder of Philando Castille, one of its starting goals was to do a self-study for race and equity.

Though it took a few years to form a vision for this and contract with a partner, the Institutional Race & Equity Self-Assessment called together a team to begin work in early 2020.

Working with Jessica Vazquez Torres of Crossroads Antiracism Organizing and Training, an organization that began as a ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), the team began its work just as COVID lockdowns began.

The video below shares a bit more about our journey.

The Self-Assessment Team prepared its final report for the wider presbytery, for voting and acceptance of their recommendations at the May 18th, 2023, stated meeting. 

In the first months of 2023, the team prayerfully put in hundreds of hours of collective work to prepare information and resources to accompany the report, to cultivate conversational space, and to write the report itself.