Produced by the General Commission on Religion and Race, this Vital Conversations video series features contemporary theologians, sociologists, laity, clergy and other thought-leaders dealing with challenges of race, culture and oppression in The United Methodist Church and the world today.
Vital Conversations: Series 1
Vital Conversations 1: Realities of Race and Racism features contemporary theologians, sociologists, laity, clergy, and other thought-leaders dealing with challenges of race, culture, and oppression in the Church and world today.
- Ongoing Acts of Repentance with Indigenous People
- Deconstructing White Privilege with Dr. Robin DiAngelo
- Continued Struggles in American Race Relations
- Meaningful Conversations About Race, Featuring Rev. Dr. Hooker
- The Intersections of Oppression with Rev. Dr. Pamela Lightsey
- Tearing Down Fences in Baltimore
- Deconstructing White Privilege: A Discussion Guide
- Church: Building the Beloved Community
Vital Conversations: Series 2
Vital Conversations Series 2: Race, Culture, Tribe, and the Global Church is a series of short videos that feature compelling voices speaking on issues of socio-economic justice, ethnicity and culture, and what has been described as the “rocky road toward truth, reconciliation, and peace.” Vital Conversations 2 offers anyone, who would have ears to listen, opportunities to learn, speak, and act. Come—join the conversation!
- What it Means to be a Mission Worker in Today’s World Wide Church, Featuring Thomas Kemper
- Deliberate Steps the Church Must Take to Foster Peace, Justice, and Reconciliation in the 21st Century
- Muslim-Christian Relations in Nigeria and How Church Leaders are Addressing Interfaith Issues
- Merging Faith and Culture in Asia
- Why the Church Should Care about Sexual and Reproductive Health in Africa
- Environmental Racism and Economic Justice in Brazil
- Addressing Tribal Conflict and Moving Towards Reconciliation
- Younger & More Diverse People in Mission, Featuring Joy Eva Bohol
Vital Conversations: Series 3
Vital Conversations 3: Young Adults, Social Justice and the Church is the third in a series of videos that invites us to consider the challenges, perspectives and struggles of others with whom we may never have had the opportunity to communicate. In this collection of 14 videos, Vital Conversations 3 helps initiate conversation by bringing to us the voices and experiences of people from various countries, reared in different communities, and who in one way or another have been called to be drum majors for justice. Each video segment reminds us, the people of God – we who have “ears to hear and eyes to see” – that we are all part of the beloved community, and that this resource is an invitation to welcome perspectives that bring enlightenment and understanding.
- Welcoming New People to Church and Asking “Where are You From?”
- Coming Out as Lesbian to My Traditional Congregation
- My Story: Building Bridges with Music
- Called to Welcome Refugees
- Mistaking Urban Decay for “Blackness”
- Welcoming People with Disabilities in the Church
- Being Bilingual in a Culture that Doesn’t Understand It
- How to Engage Children and Youth Using Rap and Hiphop
- Engaging Diversity in Vital Faith Communities
- Correlation Between Environmental Racism and Gentrification in Urban Areas
- How the Church Must Embrace Refugees and Immigrants
- The Kind of Church I Want to Pastor
- Being an Ally with People of Color
- Contrasting Current Activism with Civil Rights Movements of the Past
Download the study guide (Series 1, 2, 3) >>
Vital Conversations: Series 4
In this 11-part video series, Vital Conversations 4: Race, Culture, the Church and Human Sexuality, the General Commission on Religion and Race has invited church laypeople, theologians, pastors, campus ministers, LGBTQ individuals, ecumenical friends and outside-the-church friends – most of them people of color – to weigh in with their perspectives. Should The United Methodist Church fully accept and include or should it exclude from full participation those who are gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender or intersex? Could the church find and explore middle ground? What might U.S. people of color and people beyond the United States and beyond our denomination add to this conversation?
We further invited presenters to speak authentically in their own voices, using their vernacular. Those featured in this series represent their own cultures, languages and ideological perspectives. While some terms used may be unfamiliar and even unsettling for some, we encourage you to listen actively and open yourselves to these speakers.
- Recalling Our Roots as Methodists
- Finding a Church to Call Home
- Human Sexuality and the Church: Being the Church that Channels God’s Love
- Human Sexuality and the Church: Remembering Our Priorities – Making Disciples, Transforming Lives
- Human Sexuality and the Church: Walking with the God Who Loves Us All
- Honoring Personal Integrity in the Midst of Community
- Human Sexuality and the Church: Offering Pastoral Care when Congregants Have Differing Views
- Intersections of Identity and Oppression in the Church
- Human Sexuality and the Church: Indigenous Identities and Inclusiveness
- Interfaith Bridge Building and Sharing One Another’s Loss
- Values, Laws, Marriage, and the Bible
