SACRED RECKONINGS is rooted in relationship, spiritual practice, and faithful responsiveness to a national movement for reparations to Black and Indigenous communities.
Its call is to the sacred task of reckoning with the histories of colonization and White supremacy that have traumatized and broken lives, bodies, relationships, and the earth.
It is also a call to the promise of liberation that is woven into the work of reckoning.
At the heart of SACRED RECKONINGS is a Reparatory Eco Map. This interconnected ecosystem includes Truth Telling, Spiritual Practice, Relationship, Political Solidarity, and Wealth Return. The work of reparation and repair is an ongoing process that invites us into each of these topics again and again.
We invite you and your congregation to join us in beginning, furthering, or deepening your collective reparation practice. We are so glad you have chosen to journey with us!
Our Ecosystem of Reparation
get the Guide
The SACRED RECKONINGS guide contains the collective wisdom of many Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) friends, colleagues, mentors, and teachers. It can be used to begin, further, or deepen a congregation’s reparation practice.
It assumes a primarily White audience as it is up to White settler-colonizers to intentionally undo the violence of White and Christian supremacy in the United States. This involves the deeply liberative and spiritual work of repair and reparation, and we are grateful you are taking this journey with us!
WATCH THE FILM
We are thrilled to share Sacred Reckonings, a short documentary about the reparatory process. It features interviews with Black, Indigenous, and White leaders in the reparation movement sharing stories and reflecting on the work needed within White churches to engage the reparatory process. Come be inspired, challenged, and guided in the sacred work of truth-telling, solidarity, and transformation that leads to genuine reparation.
Interviews featuring Rev. Dr. Stephen G. Ray, Jr., Coya White Hat-Artichoker (Sicangu Lakota, Ho-Chunk descendant), Rev. Joel Miller, Sharon Day (Bois Forte Band of Ojibwe), Macky Alston, Rev. Pamela Ngunjiri, Alfred Walking Bull (Sicangu Lakota, Rosebud Sioux Tribe), Dr. Carolyn Pegg, and Rev. John Pegg were conducted and recorded by Rev. Dr. Rebecca Voelkel with generous support from the Louisville Institute. Video editing by Angela Jimenez, video scripting by Julianna Olsen, script advisor Jessica Intermill and produced by the Center for Sustainable Justice with generous support from the E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Foundation.
Get TRAINING
Are you a part of a White settler-colonizer church?
We can assist your religious community in doing the work of reparations based on the SACRED RECKONINGS’ 11 steps and corresponding tools and exercises. Through our 5-session training series, you will be accompanied by facilitators, Julica Hermann de la Fuente and Rev. Dana Neuhauser, along with the guide’s authors, Rev. Dr. Rebecca Voelkel and Jessica Intermill (read their bios here). The training opens with a Friday/Saturday retreat followed by three coaching calls. Please refer to our Training FAQs for more details.
We encourage you to invite 3-5 members of your racial justice team or others who share your passion for racial justice and liberation in the life of your congregation. Being part of a team will help you gain the most from our training experience. If you are curious about how to bring reparations work to your church, you are welcome to join as an individual.
Cost is $750 per congregational team (entire group participating in the same cohort), or $200 if attending as an individual. We want this training to be financially accessible to everyone and have reduced or free rates as needed. Customized training and consulting services are also available.
If our current offerings do not fit your schedule or you would like to discuss other options, please fill out our interest form.
UPCOMING TRAINING
Our next training offering is Winter 2024/2025. It will be offered entirely online. Schedule:
Fri., Nov. 22: 5-8 pm CT
Sat., Nov. 23: 10 am-4 pm CT
Thurs., Jan. 9: 6:30-8 pm CT
Thurs., Jan. 23: 6:30-8 pm CT
Thurs., Feb. 6: 6:30-8 pm CT
SACRED RECKONINGS IS A joint project of:
Special thanks for grant support from the Louisville Institute and the E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Foundation.
The Reparatory Eco Map was created by the MARCH (Multifaith Anti-Racism, Change & Healing) working group: Rev. Terri Burnor; Rev. Ashley Horan; Jessica Intermill, Esq.; Liz Loeb, Esq.; Rev. Dana Neuhauser; Rev. Jim Bear Jacobs (Stockbridge-Munsee Mohican Nation); Rev. Dr. Rebecca Voelkel. Licensed under CC BY-ND 2.0