The St. Charles Center for Faith and Action has partnered with E Pluribus Unum (EPU) on a project to support churches looking to support a movement of healing and reconciliation by examining their own history and charting a new path forward for their congregation.

Inspired by 1 John 3:18, the project is entitled In Deed and Truth: Interrogating Legacies of Which Church in America (IDAT) and is a cohort-style program for historically predominantly white churches at least 50 years old located in the South. The cohort of churches will participate in virtual workshops with faith leaders and subject matter experts to guide them through a process of researching, understanding, and reckoning with their church’s history around issues of race. They will receive guidance and technical assistance from practitioners to engage their congregations in activities designed to ensure the process is a joint effort of the membership. And they will meet parishioners and clergy who have successfully led transformation processes in their own churches and can share promising practices.
 

PROJECT OBJECTIVES

Over the course of their participation in the In Deed and Truth project, participants will:

• Understand the biblical basis for truth-seeking, truth-telling, and work toward healing
• Learn the history of their church’s engagement around race and racism
• Develop skills and techniques to improve internal and external communication around issues of history, race, and other challenging topics
• Discern a new path forward in collaboration with church leadership and congregation members

ELIGIBILITY

• Churches must be at least 50 years old
• Churches must be located in one of the 13 southern states (Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Florida, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia)
• Churches should consider themselves to have a predominantly white membership
• Church committees must be able to attend monthly virtual sessions
   

YOUR IDAT COMMITTEE

Each participating church will form an In Deed and Truth Committee of 3-5 individuals. This committee will serve as the primary representation of the church in the IDAT program. The IDAT committee members will attend the monthly sessions and serve as the liasions between the IDAT program and the work of your congregation.

• At least two members of your IDAT committee must be present at every meeting. It does not have to be the same two individuals for each meeting, but you are encouraged to select committee members that have the capacity and motivation to engage in the sessions in order to have the best outcomes for your church.
• At least 1 committee member must be clergy or staff.
• At least 1 committee member must be a member of the vestry, council, or other congregation-based leadership team if your church has such a group.
• The remaining 1-3 members can be any combination of leadership and lay congregants.

Electronic Submissions: 

• To submit an application, you will need to create a Submittable account. If you are experiencing difficulties, please visit the following link for directions on How to submit. All you need is an email and password to create your account, it's that simple. Visit this page for help or questions about using submittable.
• Once you start your application in Submittable, you will be able to save your draft and return to your saved draft at a later point in time.How do I return to a saved draft?
• You may invite others from your church to complete the application with you as a collaborator. The person that starts the application will be the Owner. The Owner is the only one who can submit the completed application and invite collaborators.  Inviting Collaborators on Submissions and Additional Forms
• Supported internet browsers include Google Chrome, Apple Safari, & Mozilla Firefox.
• If you have any technical issues, please contact Submittable through the following link: Submittable technical support