Micah 6:8 is the guidepost for the Racial Justice Ministry:
He has shown you what is good;
and what does the Lord require of you
but to do justice, and to love mercy,
and to walk humbly with your God?
Essentially, this is the “what”, “why” and “how” of the Justice Ministry. These three “requirements” can also be aligned with our three ministry goals: Formation (walk humbly), Advocacy (do justice) and our newly added goal: Reparative Justice (love mercy).
What is Reparative Justice?
Racial justice reparations address the enduring legacy of systemic racism, historical injustices, and the economic, social, and psychological harm inflicted upon marginalized racial communities, particularly Black Americans. Reparations acknowledge the centuries of exploitation, from slavery to segregation to discriminatory policies, that have created significant wealth gaps, limited access to opportunities, and perpetuated inequality. Reparative Justice would not only be a means of restitution but also a step toward healing and reconciliation. We want to be a parish where the impact of historical wrongs is actively addressed, rather than ignored.
Helping to Repair the Gaps in Education
St B’s Justice Ministry invites you to join us to “adopt” an elementary or middle school in the Pearl Cohn cluster in North Nashville (37208) for the 2025/26 school year and beyond! We will work with Operation Andrew to facilitate connecting with and supporting this school.
Please join us for Sunday morning Formation on May 4th in Wallace Hall to hear from Jenny Runyon, Program Manager at Operation Andrew, to learn the myriad of exciting ways we can volunteer with a partner school!
Following that meeting we plan to form a team that can be ready to assist teachers and administrators to ready their classrooms over the summer for the 2025/26 school year (think school supply drive, repairing playgrounds, painting classrooms or providing snacks during teacher in-service) as well as helping students and families next school year.
Our choice of school isn't random
Did you know that 37208 is the most incarcerated per capita zip code in the country? Low-income students not reading by their grade level by the end of third grade are six times less likely to graduate highschool, and highschool dropouts are 63 times more likely to be incarcerated than college grads! For this reason and more, we want to support children and families here.
For more, we would highly recommend watching “Disrupt & Dismantle: A School to Prison Pipeline in America’s Most Incarcerated Zip Code”, hosted by Soledad O’Brien.
Ready to DO SOMETHING? Join us May 4th!
