At the most recent meeting, Committee on Church and Ministry A discussed the Southwest Conference requirements for ministerial authorization in light of our current cultural context for ministry and best practices being recommended by and adopted throughout the United Church of Christ. Pursuant to the discussion, COCAM A adopted the following resolution:
“As a condition of maintaining standing, all parish and non-parish active clergy and all retired clergy serving in active ministry will be required to complete anti-racism training by the end of 2017.”
This step is not an indication of a problem or deficiency among us, but rather an expression of our shared commitment to excellence in ministry.
We are in the process of designing the implementation process for this new requirement. We are in dialogue with the CT and KO conferences who are leaders in this area of ministerial excellence. That strategy will include training trainers who will offer anti-racism training in our conference in similar fashion to boundary training. If you have experience as an anti-racism trainer please contact the Southwest Conference Office or If you have attended an outstanding program of anti-racism training let us know. We are compiling names of possible candidates for anti-racism trainer training so apply now. We are in the process of compiling curriculum information to be release at a later date. We also want to listen to concerns or appreciation you may want to share about this new requirement; please contact the Conference Office or the Committee on Church and Ministry A.
Our goal is to offer the first round of anti-racism training as an in-service day on the Thursday before Annual Meeting (May 4), and a second opportunity for training in conjunction with the Annual Clergy Retreat (but separate from it). The anti-racism training sessions will be open to all members of the conference, but required for active clergy.
Thank you for actively supporting this initiative. The trend across the United Church of Christ is clearly to include anti-racism as a requirement for ministerial standing. Taking this step now in the Southwest Conference positions us as leaders for ministerial excellence in the UCC. As the conference known for our innovation and excellence I am proud of our COCAM A members for taking this step. Thank you to COCAM A! We look forward to taking the first round of anti-racism training together in May.
Would you care to add your name for consideration to become a course trainer?