By Sascha Anderson, Postulant from the Diocese of the Rio Grande
In January of this year, a group of seven AAPI, Black, Indigenous, and Latinx seminarians from Seminary of the Southwest joined seminarians from across the Episcopal Church at the Seminarians of Color Conference, held in Oklahoma City. The conference brought together BIPOC students from seminaries and divinity schools across the country with folks from the Episcopal Church’s Asian America, African Descent, Indigenous, and Latino Ministries departments. We heard from recent seminary graduates, lay leaders, and bi-vocational clergy. We heard from powerful speakers like the Reverend Guy Hewitt, Director of the Racial Justice Unit for the Church of England, who spoke to us about racial reconciliation in the Church of England; and the Rev. Dr. Mary Christ (Amskapi Pikuni / Blackfeet Nation), who spoke to us about her incredible work with St. Michael’s Ministry Center in Riverside, CA, funding and establishing a permanent supportive housing initiative from the ground up.
The value that came from being in a room with other seminarians who shared lived experiences cannot be overstated. To be in a room surrounded by people praying in Xhosa, Chahta, Lakota, Japanese, Spanish, and other languages felt, to me, like the best expression of God’s church and the past, present, and future of our faith communities. Clergy of color continue to face myriad challenges in ministry–including access to seminary education and mentorship after seminary–but bringing us together to learn from one another and to build solidarity was a true blessing. It also highlighted the continued need for our faith communities to continue to invest resources in developing clergy and church leadership who reflect the diversity of all of God’s people, as diverse and vibrant communities are not built without strong and sustained support.
I am tremendously grateful to the missioners and staff of the Episcopal Church who made this possible and to Seminary of the Southwest for support in attending the conference. I’m already looking forward to next year!
