A 5-week Immersion in dismantling white supremacy in the Church in order to build Beloved Community w/ Brandon Wrencher
About this Immersion
In the US and globally, the wealth gap between the rich and the poor is greater than ever, disproportionately along racial lines. The Church in the West has too often served the interests of the dominant class reinforcing rather than resisting and creating alternatives to these realities of division and disparity. Churches continue to be one of the most segregated institutions along the lines of race and class. How might we be a movement of beloved communities rather than be complicit with the system and structures of white supremacy?
Drawing from the wisdom of intercultural missional movements led by people of color and poor people in the US and Global South, this Immersion will equip participants to attend to disparities at the root that awakens the Church to the ministry of liberation.
The Flow (Fri, Aug 7th – Sept 4th):*
- Week 1: THE WHITE CHURCH INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX – Unpack how whiteness and white supremacy are theological constructs that exercise relational and social violence, with a particular focus on the US.
- Week 2: MISSIOLOGICAL FOUNDATIONS FOR BELOVED COMMUNITY – Explore the Antioch Church from the book of Acts and the frame of beloved community that de-colonizes our current models of church.
- Week 3: THE POWER OF ONE-ON-ONE’S – Discover this basic yet non-negotiable decolonizing practice that builds people-power for spiritual and social transformation.
- Week 4: JOURNEY TO BELOVED COMMUNITY PART 1 – Map out the process leaders will take to build decolonizing churches with the oppressed in local neighborhoods
- Week 5: JOURNEY TO BELOVED COMMUNITY PART 2 – Continue to map out the process leaders will take to build decolonizing churches with the oppressed in local neighborhoods
*RECORDINGS: With your ticket, you will receive the recordings of each session in case you are unable to attend.
The Coaches
Brandon Wrencher is a minister, organizer, writer, and trainer. He works across the US within faith, education, and non-profit sectors at the intersections of decolonizing church, contemplative activism, and local presence to build beloved communities. Brandon’s latest venture is with a team of friends and neighbors starting The Good Neighbor Movement. Brandon is an elder in the Western North Carolina Conference of The United Methodist Church. Brandon holds a Bachelor of Arts in Religion from UNC-Chapel Hill, a Master of Divinity from North Park Theological Seminary, and completed post-graduate studies in theology and ethics from Duke Divinity School. He writes for Sojourners, The Other Journal, Missio Alliance and other publications. Brandon is a teaching faculty with Neighborhood Seminary and facilitator with Faith Matters Network. He is active with other national networks and recently joined a team to launch the Liberating Church Project, a research and writing collaborative seeking to decolonize established expressions of church. Brandon is a coach with V3 Church Planting Movement. He is married to his best friend and high school sweetheart Erica, who is a cultural and social justice educator. They have two sons Phillip (7) and Morris (4).
Erica Wrencher is a public educator, speaker, vocalist, and activist working with young folx, churches, and neighborhoods to build beloved communities. Her teaching and faith-rooted community leadership spans urban and rural contexts in North Carolina and Chicago. Erica holds a Bachelor of Arts in History, a Master of Arts in Teaching, and she is currently pursuing a PhD in Educational Leadership and Cultural Foundations. She is active as an organizer for racial equity and justice and considers herself a human connection educator. Erica is committed to speaking from her context as a Black woman who is rooted in history and truth, including a love for and commitment to the teachings of that brown-skinned refugee Jesus. She enjoys singing, eating good food and drinking good wine with her community and family. Erica is married to her best friend Brandon and they are the parents of two sons, Phillip and Morris.
About the Author
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