November 6, 2024 is right around the corner.

We hear about the upcoming election in newsfeeds, curricula to purchase, discussions to be had, advocating for change, and getting out to vote. This is important work. But November 6th will come. No matter the results of the election, problems in our nation and world will still linger, brokenness will still exist, and the work of repair will be ever present.

As people of faith, we are required to engage: to live our faith out loud in the midst of overwhelming odds. Each morning when the sun rises, we must give yet another “Yes!” to the antiracist work necessary to dismantle the systems and structures around us. This requires us to undo the broken systems existing even within ourselves. Knowledge of self, deeply formed and understood identities, allow us to work against the pressure to conform and “go on to get on.”

This fall NEXT Church is offering two unique coaching cohort opportunities for white folx and people of color. Dr. Jennifer Harvey, author and theologian, provides the material for white folx to unpack the daily practices to embody antiracist values. Rev. Anna Kendig Flores, Neema Cyrus-Franklin, and I seek to build a collective space for people of color to explore their identities as the focal point rather than in reaction to the systems which marginalize us.

 

Embodiment is both an individual and collective practice. Join us this fall!

Larissa Kwong Abazia
Executive Director