Racial & Social Justice
We have started the journey to truly become an anti-racist church.
There’s no denying that systemic racism is deeply rooted in our country. It’s a reality that, as those committed to following Christ, we simply cannot ignore. And are called to change.
In 2016, we committed ourselves as a congregation to begin addressing the racism in ourselves, our city and our country. However, as a predominantly white church on Chicago’s north shore we honestly weren’t completely sure how best to do that and we began prayerfully seeking God’s leadership, doing our homework, and having soul-searching conversations within our leadership team.
We came to believe that it required that we start with the inner work needed to confront our own embedded racism. As writers like Ibram X. Kendi and others tell us, no one can truly say, “I am not a racist.” But we can all choose to be an antiracist. We can make choices on a daily basis to confront the racism we see within ourselves, our organizations and systems.
We began this journey during Lent 2021, by hosting small group discussions at the church exploring race and racism through the lens of Isabel Wilkerson’s book Caste: The Origins of Our Discontent. And on Juneteenth of that year, we sponsored an event to raise awareness of the history of race in our local neighborhoods, hosted by HEROS (Healing Everyday Racism in our Schools), and participated in an historic walk against racism that culminated on the Winnetka Village Green.
Our work on truly becoming an antiracist church continues. And we still have a long way to go. If you’d like to be involved both in the inner work of antiracism as well as helping us move into advocacy and action, please contact the church office at 847-441-3400 or wcc@winnetkacongregationalchurch.org
If you would like to do more reading and learning on your own, you may want to explore some of the resources on this list.
