Below is a resource list for participants in the Institute of Preaching St Augustine Pilgrimage. You are invited to engage with as many and as much as you are drawn toward.

Jesus and the Disinherited, Howard Thurman.  One of Thurman’s most well-known and enduring books invites us into a theological reflection around “what exactly is the good news of Jesus that the Church has to proclaim?” Thurman grew up in Daytona, Florida during Jim Crow segregation - raised by his mother and grandmother who had been enslaved. Recognizing both the silence and overt support for racism by the white church in the United States, Thurman wrestles with the question: “How can I be a Christian?”  During our pilgrimage we will be visiting Thurman’s childhood home in Daytona to reflect on his life and witness to the liberative change Jesus makes possible in the face of oppression. Thurman co-founded the first fully integrated, multicultural church in the United States in 1944 - The Church for the Fellowship of All People in San Francisco. This book by Thurman is one that the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King carried with him having a profound influence upon his work of non-violent resistance.

Is Reconciliation Possible: The Question Remains - Lessons from Combatting Modern Racism in the U.S. and South Africa. This article by the founding director of VISIONS, Inc., Dr. Valerie Batts provides an overview of the VISIONS framework for “building the beloved community” where cultural differences are recognized, understood, appreciated and included. During the IOP St. Augustine Pilgrimage we will be learning and practicing this framework as we consider our calling to Preach Toward the Beloved Community.

Rohini Anand, “Leading Diversity: Why Listening and Learning Come Before Strategy.” https://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article/leading-diversity-listening-learning-before-strategy/

Nancy Brown, “Conditions Under Which Racial Learning Occurs.” https://s3.amazonaws.com/media.cloversites.com/bf/bf0a1a22-7646-4fe6-bd48-5c0bf70132a2/documents/Conditions_Under_Which_Racial_Learning_Occurs.pdf

Juliet Bourke and Andrea Titus, The Key to Inclusive Leadership

Claudia Rankine, On Being Podcast, “How Can I Say This So We Can Stay In This Car Together.” https://onbeing.org/programs/claudia-rankine-how-can-i-say-this-so-we-can-stay-in-this-car-together-jan2019/

Rev. David Williamson, Journal Entry from November 2018. Self reflections shared with my congregation and community about the reason I would stand with St Paul AME Rev. Ron Rawls in public protest calling for the removal of Confederate monuments from the public plaza of St Augustine, and name my particular role to set a table for deeper dialogue (aka “Community Conversation). https://s3.amazonaws.com/media.cloversites.com/bf/bf0a1a22-7646-4fe6-bd48-5c0bf70132a2/documents/Pastor_David_Williamson_Journal_November_2018.pdf

Rev. Juana Jordan, “When Silence is No Longer an Option.” Video of her sermon on MLK Day January 21, 2020 in the public plaza of St Augustine. The mayor and other city commissioners who would eventually vote 3-2 to remove the Confederate monument (which was right in front of Juana at the time she spoke these words) were present in the crowd as she spoke these prophetic words. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hUy3b1xflg0

Rev. David Wiliamson, “When the System Does My Hate for Me.” June 2020 article published in Grace Church News and shared publicly on social media that speaks to my personal journey of recognizing the way unaddressed systems of racism will do my hatred for me if I remain silent and uninvolved. https://s3.amazonaws.com/media.cloversites.com/bf/bf0a1a22-7646-4fe6-bd48-5c0bf70132a2/documents/When_the_System_Does_My_Hate_for_Me.pdf

Rev. David Williamson, “The Story of Sitiki: A Black Lay Preacher Who Sustained Methodism in St Augustine for 30 years.” February 2023 article published in Grace Church News. This is a story of powerful black leadership for all Methodists in St Augustine that has only recently been acknowledged and shared. https://s3.amazonaws.com/media.cloversites.com/bf/bf0a1a22-7646-4fe6-bd48-5c0bf70132a2/documents/Celebrating_Black_History_Sitiki_-_Newsletter_2-23.pdf

The Civil Rights Struggle in St Augustine and Grace United Methodist Church 1964. A series of primary sources shared by the pastor’s son (Rev. John Gill Jr.). https://s3.amazonaws.com/media.cloversites.com/bf/bf0a1a22-7646-4fe6-bd48-5c0bf70132a2/documents/Story_of_Race_and_Grace_UMC_1964.pdf

The Grace UMC Church Council recognizes and changes a racist church policy. https://s3.amazonaws.com/media.cloversites.com/bf/bf0a1a22-7646-4fe6-bd48-5c0bf70132a2/documents/Grace_UMC_Remembering_Forwards_-_Addressing_and_Changing_Policies_of_Racial_Exclusion.pdf