Lori Adams

Kent Cook

Marissa Dooley

Desmond Wade

Luis Gierbolini

What drew me to Central when I applied to be your associate pastor was your mission statement: “Celebrating the unconditional welcome we receive from God through Christ, we join together in worship, community, and witness to wrestle with deep questions of faith,to grow in love for God and one another,to confront oppression and injustice, and to extend God’s boundless hospitality to all."

It is in the creation of the  Antiracism team, specifically systemic racism in the institutional church, where I am called to join you. I hope that in this work we may continue to live out our mission as a church.

Carolyn Higginbotham

I was raised by parents who were deeply engaged in the fight for fair housing and who firmly believed that following Jesus and working for justice go hand in hand. Over the years I've come to see more and more how systemic racism harms everyone, keeping each and everyone of us from being all that God intends us to be. Engaging in anti-racism work is slowly helping me to see the world more clearly, to see more fully what is actually going on around me, and to recognize how I've been conditioned to ignore so much of the reality that other people live every day. And as I become more self-aware, I am also more and more aware of the harm \the system of White Supremacy inflicts on others, and my own complicity in that. In the end, it comes down to this: If I believe that every human being is a beloved child of God, then I am compelled to work toward the liberation of all.

Chris Kozak

I joined the anti-racism team because I feel it is our responsibility as a community and a church to confront the centuries of racism in the United States and in Indiana. Though we may not have participated in the horrors of the past, and though we may bear less fault than our ancestors, it is still our responsibility to help repair the wrongs of the past. For the sake of the living and those not yet born, we must use our power and resources to even the scales of justice. I have stayed on the team because I have hope and confidence that the team members are committed to the cause and will make a difference in dismantling the structures that support racism in Central, the Disciples, and Indiana.

Linda McCrae

An awareness of racism has been part of my life since I was young. My father worked for our denomination in the area of "race relations" in the 1960s and spent time with voter registration in Mississippi and recruiting people to go to the March on Washington in 1963. My younger sister was adopted from Asia and I witnessed some of the racism she experienced growing up in central Indiana. Living outside the U.S. I learned about global racial dynamics as well as the way race plays out within other countries.

As a pastor and leader of Central, I love being part of a racially diverse community and long for us to go deeper in our antiracism work. It is hard work but I feel like if any congregation can do it, Central can. I value my teammates and the challenging and enlightening conversations we have shared over the past year. I look forward to broadening the conversation and pray we'll be led by the Spirit in this work.

Michael Mayes

I was drawn to the ATT team because of past and present interracial relationships in my life. I grew up being raised in an all-white environment. As an adult, I have made friends with people of many colors. I have been in an interracial relationship since 2012 with the love of my life and we were married in 2014.

Over time I have become aware of values and structures in our world that do not support people of color and continue to support racism whether unconsciously or consciously. I am okay and do well with difficult and uncomfortable conversations about racism. I hope that my perspective and life experience will offer value to the ATT team as we continue to learn to recognize and dismantle anti-racism structures that may exist. I look forward to being part of a team that wants to effect positive change at Central so that people of all races feel welcome and included in worship and the variety of activities available at Central.

Donna Prince

Why ever would one choose to be a part of the Antiracism Transformation Team here at Central? This is a good question. In our conversations we have used the language of being called to this work as a ministry. As a calling, part of me wants to say NO while the rest of me is saying YES. It is not easy because it challenges others, but it is important because it empowers others. We do not know where the journey will meander, but we are curious enough to keep jogging along. For me personally, it is a journey that I have been on most of my life. It has been a matter of self identity and self-perseverance. It is a matter of pride in the culture of my ancestors. It has been the work of asserting and protecting the truth of family lineage. And most importantly, it has been sharing the vulnerability of hope yet to be fulfilled.