Boston’s Trinity Church Hosts Symposium on Race Relations

BOSTON - Jan. 7, 2015 - PRLog -- In light of increasingly intense racially charged events in Ferguson, Mo., and elsewhere across the country, Trinity Church in the City of Boston is elevating race relations as a point for public discussion.  To spotlight what Trinity Church’s Rector, the Rev. Samuel T. Lloyd, calls “the urgent issue of our time,” Trinity is sponsoring the inaugural Anne B. Bonnyman Symposium – “We Still Have a Dream: End Racism” – on Sun., Jan. 18, 2015. Free and open to the public, the symposium will be held at Trinity Church, Copley Square.

Parishioners are inviting neighbors and concerned citizens from across Boston to listen to nationally recognized experts such as Marian Wright Edelman of the Children’s Defense Fund, and Debby Irving, author of Waking Up White, address the ongoing burden of racism in our country and the ways we are being called to address it in our time. In addition to presenters and panelists, the program will include opportunities to discuss barriers to equality as well as to learn spiritually sustaining practices individuals and communities can adopt to help recognize, root out and resist the effects of systemic racism.

“It’s our hope that Bostonians of every heritage and persuasion will participate in this important discussion,” said Lloyd. “If we don’t recognize and address the insidious nature of racism within our own places of work and worship, we cannot hope to do so within the larger community.”

The title of the event refers to King’s historic “I Have a Dream” speech at the Lincoln Memorial 50 years ago. The symposium itself is named in honor of the Rev. Anne Berry Bonnyman, Trinity’s first female rector (2006-2011) and passionate advocate for social justice in the City of Boston.

“We’re hoping that this symposium will encourage frank and open dialogue that will lead all of us to be more creative in outlook and actions,” said Marva Nathan, co- chair of the Bonnyman Symposium Committee and a founding member of Trinity’s Anti-Racism Team.

The Symposium, which was organized by Trinity Church’s Anti-Racism Team, is featuring a variety of speakers including:

Marian Wright Edelman, founder and president of the Children’s Defense Fund and well-known advocate for disadvantaged Americans, will give the keynote address at 1:30pm;

The Right Rev. Michael B. Curry, Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of North Carolina and first African-American bishop to lead a southern diocese of the Episcopal Church, will preach at Trinity’s 9:00 a.m. and 11:15 a.m. services;

Debby Irving, author of Waking Up White, Tim Wise, author of Dear White America: Letter to a New Minority, and Rev. Liz Walker, Senior Pastor of Roxbury Presbyterian Church and former WBZ-TV news anchor, will join Marian Wright Edelman and Bishop Curry for a panel discussing their personal experiences of systemic racism and spiritual practices that can help overcome it. The panel will be moderated by the Hon. Barbara Dortch-Okara, chair of the Massachusetts State Ethics Commission, Professor of Law at New England Law School, and a Trinity parishioner.

According to Rev. Lloyd, the Symposium has real potential to serve as a catalyst for personal and political change. “When it comes to race issues, we need conversations that can help us address the fundamental divide in our body politic, our community and our Church,” he says. “I am hoping that this Symposium makes a contribution to a much larger dialogue. As Christians, we must find ways to understand how others experience the world before we can move toward the beloved community we are called to be.”

Trinity Church in the City of Boston is a dynamic Christian community of 3,000 households, a member of the Episcopal Church, and open to all.  Each year, more than 150,000 people from around Greater Boston and the world come to this National Historic Landmark, considered one of the “10 significant buildings in America,” for prayer, cultural and community events.  For those looking for a deeper connection to God and a caring community, opportunities to grow in faith abound through worship, music, pastoral care, social justice, and Christian education for all ages.  For more information about Trinity Church, its ministries and programs, please visit http://www.trinitychurchboston.org or call 617-536-0944.