Team Selection & training
HOW ARE THEY SELECTED?
Another Pebble reflect a diversity of race, gender, age, skills, economic status/class, geography and lay/clergy. Team members are selected from among applicants to maintain a balance of representation and gifts for the work of this ministry. Team applicants are asked to answer a series of questions designed to discern:
- the applicant’s motivation for doing this work
- what relevant gifts, skills and experiences the applicant brings to this work
- the applicant’s insights and concerns for the transformation of our church into an antiracist movement for equity and justice
- the applicant’s affinity for the team’s analysis of racism along with the approach and strategies being employed by this ministry
The ultimate goal in the selection process is to build a cohesive team that will work in unison towards the difficult goal of building an antiracist church
TRAINING
Another Pebble members undergo continual training and education for the express purpose of furthering their knowledge of the history of racism/antiracism and the continual development of the skills and tools necessary for the effective dismantling of systemic racism. This ongoing work ensures that there is a clarity of team purpose and objectives, based on a common analysis of racism. Specific skills developed through these ongoing efforts include:
- Teaching - team members are enabled with the capacity to do introductory educational events on the nature of systemic racism, as well as on the specific needs for change within this church
- Organizing - team members are equipped with the skills to strategize, organize and implement plans for structural change
- Research and Evaluation - team members develop tools and strategies that affect ongoing evaluation and assessment of transformative work within this church
In parallel with the training objectives, the Team develops short-term and long-term strategies for action. Concrete plans for action are developed for the next two years of this ministry along with a long-term vision for the team’s work during the next 20 to 30 years.