“Our unfolding role in becoming an anti-racist congregation.” 
Contact Kisten Thompson to learn more about getting involved with the RJWG at CtK.

Vision and Mission for Racial Justice Working Group

Vision: A beloved community that lives out the gospel truth of loving our neighbors as ourselves (Matt 22:37-40)
Mission: Guided by the Gospel, we commit to combating systemic racism in our congregation and community (Micah 6:8)
Objective: Develop a meaningful, substantial and respectful plan within our congregation and community to increase racial understanding and to build partnerships and action towards racial justice
Strategies: The framework for our work will be built around
  • Learning
  • Relationships
  • Advocacy

ELCA Truth & Healing Movement

Over the next few months, the ELCA will provide opportunities to learn the history and realities of Indigenous people, in hopes of bringing healing to both Indigenous and non-Indigenous people. Some opportunities will be calls to individual action and there will be others that congregations and small groups can participate in together. Here are some upcoming activities to consider:
  • “Read the Truth in June” – consider reading a book written by a Native author and hosting a book discussion
  • June 7 – Native Nations: Standing Together for Civil Rights – one-hour documentary
  • June 21 – Panel Presentation with National Indian Lutheran Board
  • June 23 – Intro to the Truth & Healing Movement
Descriptions and links for the Truth & Healing Movement are posted on the ELCA's website.

In July, Christ the King will be offering a discussion of The Four Vision Quests of Jesus by Steven Charleston, New York: Morehouse Publishing; 2015. Look for more information on this page later in June.

June 2023
Read the Truth in June
Throughout the summer months, congregations, ministries, synods, and organizations are encouraged to choose a book to read together. A book written by a Native author should be selected, and time near the end of the month scheduled for the readers in your congregations, ministries, synods, and organizations to gather and discuss the book together.
The bookshop Native Reads, lists only books by Native authors for your convenience.

June 7, 2023
Film Screening: “Native Nations”
7 - 8 p.m.
You are invited to join the screening of “Native Nations: Standing Together for Civil Rights,” a one-hour documentary exploring the role of the Lutheran church in the American Indian civil rights movement of the 1970s and 1980s. 
A panel discussion about the National Indian Lutheran Board will be hosted on June 21.
More information and a link for the screening is available on the ELCA website.

SALT Series

You can view recordings/videos from the recent SALT series presented by the Racial Justice Working Group.
  • February 26 - Michael O. Emerson, Ph.D., Head of the Sociology Department, University of Illinois at Chicago, shares research from his forthcoming book, The Grand Betrayal: The Agonizing Story of Religion, Race, and Rejection in American Life, from a keynote presentation delivered November 5, 2022, sponsored by Minnesota Council of Churches, at Westminster Presbyterian Church, Minneapolis (https://youtu.be/KtnmxSYH_vM?t=2203). This is the premise for the following three sessions.
VIEW SESSION 1 VIDEO
  • March 12 - Rev. Pamela Ngunjiri (pronounced ‘go jeri’), Co-Director for Racial Justice, Minnesota Council of Churches, and ordained Itinerant Elder in the AME (African Methodist Episcopal) Church, highlighted points on white supremacy and it’s entanglement with the Christian church, which are a focus of her dissertation for the Doctor of Ministry in Church Leadership at Bethel University. 
VIEW SESSION 2 VIDEO
  • March 26 - Felicia A. Boone, a DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion) Consultant for Hennepin County, the Vice-President of the Minneapolis Area Synod of the ELCA, a member of the Board of Regents at Wartburg College (ELCA), and leads/collaborates on a range of committees as a member of Calvary Lutheran Church in Minneapolis, spoke to us through a racial equity lens.
SESSION 3 VIDEO (Available soon)​
  • April 30 - Rev. Jim Bear Jacobs, a member of the Stockbridge-Munsee Mohican nation located in central Wisconsin, with degrees in Pastoral Studies and Christian Theology, currently parish associate at Church of All Nations Presbyterian, and Co-Director of Racial Justice for the Minnesota Council of Churches, raised our awareness of American Indian causes and injustices, ensuring that the Native American voice is heard in areas where it has long been ignored.
SESSION 4 VIDEO​​