The Road to Social Equity
Examining Our Culture and Conscience
The Road to Social Equity Initiative examines our parish life and culture, identifies any blind spots when it comes to diversity, equity, and inclusion, and lays the groundwork for a strategic plan that will further our vision of being a parish where “no one is lost or forgotten” (Parish Vision 2022, ¶ 12).
Phase 3: Enacting the Strategic Plan
Father John’s Endorsement
Before Father John left for his summer sabbatical, he wanted to emphasize the significance of this work and share how he felt about the initial stages of enacting the Strategic Plan.
While there is much to do, the Racial Equity Team (RET) has determined a course of action for Summer 2022 focusing on the following three action items:
1. Ensuring the parish staff are able to comfortably discuss and enact the parts of this plan that pertain to their work
2. Establishing and supporting parishioner affinity groups to allow for discussion of their faith as it relates to their identity (e.g. Black, Latinx-Spanish Speakers, Latinx-English Speakers, LGBTQIA+, Disabled Folx)
3. Piloting a Spanish-Speaking Mass at Saint Cecilia
What does it mean to be an inclusive, anti-racist parish? Check out our glossary of terms to learn more about the terms we’re using in our work.
Phase 2: Creating the Strategic Plan
Process Explanation
In February and March of 2022, working groups of Saint Cecilia parishioners, staff, and members of Heath Resources in Action, Inc. (HRiA) met five separate times via Zoom for 1.5—2.5. hours sessions to construct a draft of the Racial Equity Strategic Plan. This group also benefited from multiple rounds of edits and amendments provided by an advisory group and the full Saint Cecilia staff.
The Strategic Plan outlines a bold and action-oriented map that we will use to advance our mission through the years 2022–2025. A framework of input that incorporated ideas from a variety of internal and external sources and elevated those that were aligned with the parish mission was utilized in this plan’s creation. There are three (3) priority areas:
- Improving Belonging and Inclusivity for Parishioners
- Parish Culture
- Solidary in Action
This plan outlines the priorities, goals, and objectives that will strengthen Saint Cecilia’s commitment to community building and social change, along with raising consciousness and putting the parish on track to continue advocating for racial and social justice.
Phase 1: The Survey
Results Presentation
This slide deck presents the findings of the survey phase of the Road to Social Equity Initiative. It was originally presented to the community on November 14, 2021. If you’d like to go through this presentation at your own place, click here!
What are the parts of this parish initiative?
Click through the boxes below to learn more about what inspired us to begin this parish initiative and what steps we’ve taken so far.
A Brief History
In the wake of the murder of George Floyd and the ensuing national reckoning with our country’s systemic racism, parish leadership began to discern how we as a church could respond both to the immediate needs of our parishioners and to the broader need to reconcile our individual and collective complicity in some of these racist institutions. The Racial Equity Team (RET), made up of parishioners, ministry leaders, parish council members, and staff, was born to explore these questions and the parish’s next actions. In these early discussions, the RET realized how much we didn’t know about our own community. How racially or ethnically diverse are we? Does Saint Cecilia feel like a spiritual home to everyone, or are there barriers to belonging? Does everyone feel the responsibility and possibility of shaping their own parish community? What would it mean to be a truly anti-racist parish?
Phase 1: The Survey
To best carry out this exploration, Saint Cecilia has partnered with the nonprofit organization Health Resources in Action (HRiA), to conduct a racial equity assessment and plan. The heart of this assessment involves gathering staff, parishioner, and community input through focus groups, individual interviews, and a survey. Key findings from the assessment will inform a strategic plan that outlines how Saint Cecilia can make positive changes with the goal of becoming a parish where all feel welcome.
Initial focus groups were conducted in May 2021 to gather feedback to help shape the key themes in the survey with the following groups:
- People who attend Mass, but are otherwise not engaged in parish life
- Black, Indigenous, and parishioners of color
- LGBTQ+ Parishioiners and Members of the Rainbow Ministry
- Social and Racial Justice Ministry Members
In the summer of 2021, the parish disseminated the survey which covered everything from who we are as a parish, to how inclusive our community is, to what each participant thought the parish should prioritize in the year ahead.
After the survey was completed in September we followed up with the focus groups and key information interviews for the below either because we hadn’t heard from that demographic group, or to get more detail on that demographic’s responses:
- Young Adults (ages 18-24)
- Youth (Under 18)
- Non-native English Speakers
- Black, Indigenous, and parishioners of color
- Parishioners who have attended 7+ years
- Parishioners with disabilities
HRiA also condcted an environement scan of our spaces. All of the collected data with inform Phase 2 of this work resulting in a strategic plan that will be stronger and more tailored to our needs.
Phase 2: The Strategic Plan
Beginning in 2022, Saint Cecilia embarked on the second phase of work with Health Resources in Action (HRiA) to develop a multi-year strategic plan informed by the data collected during the survey process. This plan illuminated the parish’s action steps to become a more welcome, anti-racist community.
The strategic planning process included four weeks of participation from a diverse group of Saint Cecilia parishioners (35 working-group members and 13 advisory group members who contributed feedback via email). The following final Priority Areas for the Strategic Plan were determined as a result of this inclusive process:
- Improve Belonging and Inclusivity for Parishioners
- Parish Culture
- Solidarity in Action
From here, the working and advisory groups fleshed out the goals, objectives, and strategies for each priority area which results in the present three-year strategic plan.
Phase 3: Enacting the Strategic Plan
While there is much to do in this plan, the Racial Equity Team (RET) has determined a course of action for Summer 2022 focusing on the following three action items:
1. Ensuring the parish staff can comfortably discuss and enact the parts of this plan that pertain to their work
2. Establishing and supporting affinity groups for parishioners to discuss their faith as it related to their identity (e.g. Black, Latinx-Spanish Speakers, Latinx-English Speakers, LGBTQIA+, Disabled Folx)
3. Piloting a Spanish-Speaking Mass at Saint Cecilia