In our March 2021 Newsletter, I wrote a brief article where I shared with you about our congregation’s participation in the Philadelphia Baptist Association’s Christ and Cultural Humili-ty Program (CCH). In this month’s newsletter I want to: draw your attention again to our participation in CCH, update you on the work of our learning team (Casey and Scott Brookes, Kathy Gallagher, Natalie Glantz, Betty Helpa, Patrick Rodgers, Debra Sharpe, and myself), and extend a couple of invitations to participate in lifelong learning. 

As a refresher, the goals of the CCH program are: 

1. To empower churches to break down barriers hindering church growth, vision and vitality. 

2. To become aware of socio-cultural dynamics that impede engaging the community. 

3. To become better neighbors and ministry partners through forging authentic rela-tionships. 

In pursuit of these goals our learning team has been learning about Christ’s teaching on humility and cultural humility theory. Cultural humility is a concept introduced by Melanie Tervalon and Jann Murray-Garcia in 1998 in the medical field. Their thesis is that understanding other cultures is a continuous, lifetime journey which involves self-reflection, self-critique, and a commitment to understanding and valuing diverse perspec-tives. Practitioners of cultural humility theory engage with others humbly, genuinely and as a learner. You can learn more about cultural humility through this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Mbu8bvKb_U 

Our team has learned about the four tenets of cultural humility. They are: 

• A lifelong commitment to self-evaluation and self-critique. 

• Dismantling power imbalances within social and professional settings. 

• Developing mutually beneficial and non-paternalistic partnerships with communities. 

 

Advocating on behalf of individuals and defined populations. 

In this month’s pastor’s report, I want to focus attention on the first tenent, a lifelong commitment to self-evaluation and self-critique. I think of this tenent as the value of lifelong learning, which is one of my core values. I consistently want to learn more about the world, myself, and my relationship with others and God. I continually seek to be open to learning new information, which I may incorporate into my existing “world-view.” At times new learnings lead to a breakthrough in my perspective. At other times my present perspective is strengthened. Sometimes, my view gradually develops into something new. I almost always appreciate when I learn something new, and it uncovers a blind spot. (We all have them. I say almost always because sometimes uncovering a blind spot means I need to change and that can be hard at times). I pursue lifelong learn-ing because one of my goals in life is to be a more faithful follower of Jesus, to be better equipped to share God’s love with others. 

In the coming months, our learning team will be sharing with Grace Baptist opportunities to learn about this journey we have undertaken together, this journey of Christ and Cultural Humility where we seek to become an effective learning organization that develops the capacity for building leadership teams with the skills to lead renewal in our faith community. If you have questions or want to learn more, you can speak to one of our team members. We will be sharing additional information in the coming months, including our focus area of listening to the needs of mem-bers who may feel isolated from community life. There will be opportunities to put into practice the value of life-long learning, including Bible studies. 

Lastly, I want to invite you to participate in a learning opportunity highlighted in this month’s newsletter, called Heal-ing the Healers: Domestic Violence. I am sure many, if not all of us, have become aware of the tragic story and death of Gabby Petito. While I do not want to pre-judge this situation or her partner, all the signs point to this being a case of domestic violence. Her case has received much more news coverage than the hundreds and thousands of other cases of missing persons or victims of domestic violence. 

October is Domestic Violence Awareness month. Did you know that 1 in 4 women and 1 in 7 people will experience domestic violence in their life? Did you know that this is not a problem “out in the world,” but also a problem in our faith communities? Are you aware of how sacred texts can be used to justify abuse? Do you know how to attend to the children, women and men, who feel invisible and suffer silently? This question relates to our CCH team’s focus of listening to the needs of members who may feel isolated from community life. I have registered and will be attending the monthly learning sessions. I hope a few members of Grace Baptist Church will join me as we live out the value of lifelong learning together. Registration information is in the article below. 

Pastor David 

Healing