A Toolkit for Reparations in Community: A Resource for the Body of Christ
A Toolkit for Reparations in Community: A Resource for the Body of Christ has been developed by our diocesan Racial Justice Commission's Subcommittee on Reparations, as called for in the resolution "A Call for Repentance and Reparations" adopted by Diocesan Convention in 2020 (full text below).
A Toolkit for Reparations in Community comprises several separate documents (linked below and also attached at the bottom of this page as PDFs):
- Newly released history report, March 2024:
"And You Will Know the Truth, and the Truth Will Make You Free: A Historical Framework (1620-1840) for Understanding How the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts Benefits Today from Chattel Slavery and Its Legacy"
- The Process Toward Reparations: A Template
- Reparations 101
- The Episcopal Church and Slavery: A Historical Narrative
- Reparations Resources and Suggested Reading
"What is Truth?: An Embodied Lenten Series"
- "What is Truth?" 2022 Lenten Series Introduction & Overview
- Session 1: Telling the Truth
- Session 2: Moving with Tension
- Session 3: Rooting in Relationship
- Session 4: Moving at the Speed of Trust
- Session 5: (Repair)ations
- Session 6: Building Resilience
Contact us
Questions and feedback are welcome by e-mail to reparations@diomass.org.
This toolkit and its elements, like the journey toward reparations, are a work in progress, never completely done. The Subcommittee on Reparations looks forward to an ever-expanding circle of experiences and wisdom in its ongoing development.
2020 Diocesan Convention Resolution: A Call for Repentance and Reparations
Resolved, that the 235th Convention of the Diocese of Massachusetts directs Diocesan Council and invites the congregations and institutions of the Diocese of Massachusetts including the Trustees of Donations, Episcopal City Mission, the Boston Episcopal Charitable Society, and others--in the name of repentance, reconciliation, and accountability to our siblings of color in our diocese--prayerfully and purposefully to explore their historic involvement in and present wealth derived from the forced labor of enslaved people; and be it further
Resolved, that in order to implement the above resolution, this Convention supports the formation and the work of the Reparations Committee of the newly formed diocesan Racial Justice Commission (a continuation of the racial reconciliation work begun in 2018), and requests that the Reparations Committee prepare a toolbox of resources and expertise to assist congregations and individual Episcopalians in the examination of their assets and their history; and be it further
Resolved, that the Diocesan Council, as well as the Trustees of Donations and the congregations and other institutions of the Diocese of Massachusetts who have accepted this invitation, are asked to report their progress and actions to the Racial Justice Commission no later than the next Convention of the Diocese of Massachusetts, November 2021; and be it further
Resolved, that the Reparations Committee of the Racial Justice Commission is asked to explore models and best practices for the creation of a Reparations Fund, and to report to the next Diocesan Convention on their recommendations for remedies including the distribution of funds from our unrestricted endowments and from our restricted endowments as may be permissible in fiscal year 2022 and beyond in acknowledgment of and repentance for the sin and legacy of slavery; and be it further
Resolved, that the Bishop of the Diocese and the Chairs of the Racial Justice Commission are asked to report to Diocesan Convention next year and in every subsequent year to provide and update on how the diocese is progressing towards full disclosure of our history and actions as the process of reparations continues.