May 08 | Luke Blount

Episcopalians Learn How to Build Diversity

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The Intercultural Development Office of the Diocese of Texas hosted the Building Diverse Communities conference last weekend at Palmer, Houston. The Rev. Eric Law of the Kaleidoscope Institute led workshops for the two-day conference.

 

Law stressed that in order for people to really begin to form diverse communities, they must first understand the meaning of culture, and they must understand who they are. 

 

"Churches' instincts are to say, 'What can we do to attract diversity,'' Law said. "That's the number one mistake ... When we try to be different in order to attract a different group ... that is being perceived as being dishonest. You must first know yourself. We cannot relate to people unless we know who we are."

 

The conference focused on helping people discover and embrace their differences in order to communicate better. And once people can observe and understand the cultural differences, they can make an effort share authority with subgroups who have less power.

 

"In every intercultural relationship, there is always a power differentiation," Law said. "One group inevitably is more powerful. But consistently Jesus challenges the rich and powerful to let go of power ... And for those who are perceived as powerless, the Gospel calls them to take up power and speak the truth."

 

Conference attendees performed several excercises to understand themselves and their peers better. In one excercise, participants wrote down what being a Christian meant to them and shared it with their groups. To see some of the responses, watch this video.

 

"The workshop was an awesome and intense brainstorming event that netted everyone in
attendance immeasurable ideas that may be used to bring their congregation
and/or church up to the twenty-first century," said attendee Stacey Wilson, the senior warden of Hope, Houston.

 

To learn more about building diverse communities, visit the Kaleidoscope Institute website. Or visit our video page to see interviews with Eric Law. 

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