Oakland, California
2021
To create new expressions of worship that allow for freedom in experiencing God, by decolonizing inherited worship practices and experimenting with forms of worship that are free from patriarchal and white supremacist structures.
Provide a brief summary of the purpose and goal of your grant.
Because we see the deep impact of white supremacy and patriarchy in how we practice and lead worship, we hope to implement a decolonizing project that identifies and rejects white supremacy and patriarchy in our worship practices, organizational structure and culture, so that our worship and congregational life can more closely reflect the good news of God's shalom.
What questions have you asked about worship in the past year?
Who are the communities of color/marginalized communities that we are accountable to? Who does our church exist for?
Where is power held in our church? How can we be transparent about decision-making?
How do we resource ourselves for this long journey of decolonization?
How do we move forward without leaving our community behind?
What does authenticity look like in worship music? How do we move towards greater incorporation of our ancestry in our music without turning into caricatures of Asian-American or Latinx worship?
In what ways has your project engaged your congregation so that it impacts the worship life and habits of the congregation?
We held a 6-week Lenten series with guest speakers on the topics of Anti-Racism, Ancestry and Embodiment.
We held our first pilot music workshop for sharing and experimenting with worship music that feels more authentic, acknowledging ancestry and cultural experience.
We have started monthly learning events with our leadership council and our Calvin grant team where we share learning from 3 different subcommittees: Rooting: Education and Engagement Opportunities around Anti-Racism, Ancestry and Embodiment, Unearthing: Outside Consultation on Leadership Structures, and New Ground: Exploration and Research of Alternative Leadership Models
We have shifted from a single Senior Pastor model to a Co-Pastor model with three co-pastors.
What criteria have you used to evaluate your plan to foster vital worship?
We will have met our goals if:
We have held trainings that give us new insight into decolonized worship, structure, and culture
We have experienced outside models for decolonized worship, structure, and culture
We have designed and experimented with our own models for decolonized worship, structure, and culture.
We have expanded our common language around decolonization as applied to worship, structure, and culture.
We have expanded congregational involvement in leadership (especially among women and BIPOC)
What issues have been your greatest challenges (or challenging opportunities)?
Our whole process was delayed by six months due to challenges in alignment with our leadership body. There was initially quite strong resistance and suspicion around the term "decolonization" and concerns that this project was going to result in the destruction of our entire faith community. That took some time to work through and rebuild trust. We've learned a lot and are still learning a lot about what it means to "move at the speed of trust." There is still skepticism from some congregants, but it has been extremely helpful to have both the Calvin grant team (True Home) and our council have regular spaces where we are learning together and collaborating around this project. Additionally, the support of our Senior Pastor
What would you like to share with other Project Directors?
I would encourage project directors to be ready for some potential conflict and difficult conversations if attempting to implement ambitious changes to a congregation's worship experience and/or organizational structures. Change in worship for community members can feel uncomfortable if not downright blasphemous! We first attempted to address resistance with more education, and then realized that the only people who attended our workshops were people who were already excited about it. The most helpful interventions for bringing skeptical community members along has been through deep listening. We are moving into a stage where we are making space for more of that.