H-1 Diversity Team Report

To the First Presidency and the World Conference:

The Diversity Team convened under the direction and organizational charter approved by the First Presidency. The team assembled for regularly scheduled meetings during the three-year period of 2007–2010.

As stated in our charter, the Diversity Team focused on honoring the worth of persons and their diversity, particularly related to culture and ethnicity. Additional foci included justice issues related to gender, disabilities, and other diversities that divide, rather than unite, us. This team upholds the worth of persons and supports sharing the peace of Jesus Christ. The team will continue building on the foundational work of others who have served on various past teams, committees, and task-force groups that dealt with issues of race and discrimination within our church. Our work reinforces the church’s commitment to the Enduring Principles of worth of all persons, responsible choices, pursuit of peace (shalom), unity in diversity, and blessings of community. We uphold the continuing need for inclusive beliefs and behaviors in human interactions.

Team Objectives

• Honor the diversity and worth of all persons while promoting unity and growth of Community of Christ.

• Provide consultation and representation in the planning and delivery of international events, activities, and church services

• Encourage intentional, sensitive, and knowledgeable advocacy for the marginalized

• Call the church to accountability in its organizational policies and practices

• Focus on recruitment, hiring, training, deploying, and supporting full-time and lay ministers who represent the diversity of our society

• Promote educational courses, training, and dialogue facilitation for congregations and apostolic fields that address advocacy and cultural awareness throughout the organization, especially in church publications.

• Plan and implement the annual Ethnic Ministers-Ministry (EMM) and World Church Leadership Council (WCLC) Retreat.

Summary of Activities

During this three-year period, the Diversity Team addressed all our objectives through regularly scheduled meetings, periodic updates with the First Presidency, conference calls, development of an Ethnic Ministers/Ministry (EMM) leaders advisory group (February 2009), coordination of the EMM/World Church Leadership Council retreat (April 2009), and ongoing collaboration with Human Resource Ministries regarding the 2004 Project Equality Opportunity Audit recommendations.

Human Resource Ministries provided the following progress report:

1. From the Project Equality report, World Church Human Resource Ministries reviewed the recommendations and approved the following actions:

• Remove the requirement of attaching a photo for the interview-selection process

• Remove the question of service in the military

• Broaden the language of policy 212 on sexual harassment to include all harassment and issues of retaliation

• Improve the language of the equal-employment-opportunity statement to reflect intentional effort for recruitment

2. Human Resource Ministries will revise policy language and update the policy manual in early 2010 for final approval by the World Church Human Resource Committee.

3. To continue monitoring our efforts and progress toward improved diversity and equality in the workplace, Human Resource Ministries will conduct another diversity audit by September 2011.

Steps for a New Direction: Removing Barriers to Create Full Access to Christ

This report identifies the serious need for an ongoing and implementable commitment to culture change within Community of Christ. Change must start with our church leaders at the top. Church leaders must create a “statement of purpose” that is clear and provide information pertaining to exactly what it is prepared to commit to.

Terms Defined:

Diversity: The range of social identity groups that comprise an organization.

Inclusion: Fully and respectfully involving all members, regardless of gender, religion, race, color, sexual orientation, national origin, age, or physical ability, in the activities and life of the organization.

Earlier efforts to address the lack of diversity and inclusion in our church were limited to the focus on education-only initiatives. Yet over a decade later, opportunities to pursue the direction of achieving comprehensive organizational culture change have not been supported fully. The goal to ensure diversity and inclusion at all levels must be at the core of any successful organization that desires to enable all people to participate in and contribute to the organization.

Diversity initiatives and inclusion strategies must be viewed as an intentional choice of “both” principles, not an “either/or” option. This holistic approach equips our church to continue moving from its mono-cultural organizational values and practices to embracing the changes necessary to create, empower, and sustain a comprehensive, diverse, multicultural ministry presence.

There must be alignment with our We Share document, Enduring Principles, and the strategic organizational plan. Church leaders, ministry, programs, recruitment and hiring, policy and practices, etc. must be consistent with our statement of purpose to achieve the organizational reforms needed for cultural change. A diversity-and-inclusion breakthrough is critical to the successful implementation of the World Ministries Coordinating Team’s strategic initiatives and the mission priorities established by the World Church Leadership Council in 2005.

We acknowledge the many steps taken to reach this point of transition. However, at this time, we do not have a strategic plan developed for the church to pursue. Future statements, strategic plans, and implementation steps must clearly describe and fully endorse diversity and inclusive change modeled by church leaders, administrative operations, and ministry programs.

Many important questions still must be determined as we develop a plan to go forward.

Such questions are:

1. Can We Share and the Enduring Principles provide the framework to identify and implement strategies for cultural change that promotes diversity and inclusion at all levels of church?

2. How do we increase recruitment of indigenous multicultural persons from marginalized groups to address the issue of “being shallow in depth” of applicants to meet future church employment needs?

3. How will we create, train, and maintain a diverse ministry workforce?

4. How will the church develop messages and practices that emphasize an expanded view/approach to ministry and enhance our appeal as a “global” church committed to creating “global” connections for ministry?

A review of the summary of activities from Ethnic Ministers and Ministries Planning Team and the provocative proposals developed at the Ethnic Ministers and Ministries/World Church Leadership Council retreat concludes with recommendations of other areas to be addressed like:

• Developing an orientation/education process for leaders and mission field staff about the need for culture change and plans to address the diversity/inclusion issues.

• Creating a full-time position (if funding is available) dedicated to developing and implementing internal resources. This person also would provide oversight, support, and drive the change process. If funded, there must be clearly defined reporting, support, and advocacy relationships between International Headquarters (IHQ) teams and staff. We also must determine the reporting relationship of this position with First Presidency and Diversity Team.

• Seeing the need for an ombudsman position or process within HR ministries to provide support, advocacy, and mediation services.

• Reassessing the authority and focus of the Diversity Team, and its use of member resources (i.e.: team size, giftedness, availability, model inclusion, etc.) and funding to be a dedicated internal resource by providing oversight, support, and drive to change process. Better defining how the Diversity Team will support and provide advocacy within its relationships with other IHQ teams and staff.

Future discernment activities of the team may include:

• developing a “Diversity Inclusion Process Model” specifically for Community of Christ;

• creating a new Organizational Diversity/Inclusion Action Plan and Accountability Scorecard with an annual report to entire church;

• continuing to identify and remove barriers;

• communicating successful new organizational practices/policy, cultural changes, new initiatives, field ministries growth, etc.;

• continuing to improve and challenge process.

The Diversity Team anticipates continuing to be viewed as an integral, equal, and active partner with World Church leaders in effectively developing and implementing strategies. Such actions will demonstrate a committed response in the comprehensive plan to address racism and prejudice in the organizational policies and cultural practices of Community of Christ.

The Diversity Team envisions this as the critical element and approach for Community of Christ to succeed in designing and implementing all missional priorities for the North American church. Our involvement at this level models inclusion and diversity professed in the church’s core values and Enduring Principles, which affirm the worth of all persons and care for all of God’s creation.

Diversity Team Affiliations

Important linkages with key stakeholders and other external organizations were achieved, creating cross-functional team representation for information and resource sharing. There are twenty current affiliations: African American Ministries, Co-Missioned Pastor Initiative and future pastor-formation development, Conference Operations and Procedures Team, Ethnic Ministers/Ministries, Expanded World Church Leadership Council, First Nations Community Council, Hispanic Ministries, Human Resource Ministries, International Leaders Meetings, International Village and Market at 2007 World Conference, Lifelong Disciple Formation, Peacemakers Summit 2009, Peace Colloquy (2008 and 2009), SPECTACULAR, Priesthood Faithfulness, Standing High Council, Temple Ministries, National Coalition Building Institute of Washington, D.C., and the Immigrant Justice and Advocacy Movement in greater Kansas City, Missouri.

Diversity Team Training and Consultation Services

Collaboration provided for the development of educational programs and events associated with Community of Christ: Co-Missioned Pastors Initiative, Congregational Life Workshops, Graceland University, Community of Christ Seminary, John Whitmer Historical Association, Health Ministries Association, International Headquarters (all-staff training and enrichment groups), and Apostolic field presentations.

Presentations and Workshops

Diversity and Cultural Awareness topics included: We Share, “Unity in Diversity,” “Removing Barriers-Embracing Differences,” “Sanctuary: The Black Church Experience,” “Promoting Diversity in Your Congregation,” “Congregation Visioning and Discernment,” “Diversity Differences and Attitudes,” “Diversity: Vision, Message and Messengers,” “Embracing Community: Who Is My Neighbor?” and a video for 2010 World Conference.

Publications

Contributions to Community of Christ publications included: a Herald article from March, 2009, “From Apologies to Promises,” and Daily Bread with submissions from an increased number of diverse authors, who were included in creating the weekly Sunday bulletin covers for 2009 and 2010.

Diversity Team
Dave Brown
Don Compier
Yola Compier
Nanette Chun-Ming Ward, team co-lead
Stassi Cramm
John Glasser
Cathi Cackler-Veazey
Gwendolyn Hawks-Blue
Jon Hetherington
Geri Macias
Scott Murphy
Terri Rathbun
Keith Russell
Derrick Williams, team co-lead