Racial Justice Task Group

Co-Chairs: Ruling Elder Diane Matthews & Rev. Dr. Steve Lytch

The Racial Justice Task Group seeks to help congregations, church leaders, and members embrace God's call to address racial injustice as part of their Christian faith and take action to work toward justice.

"For he is our peace; in his flesh he has made both groups into one and has broken down the dividing wall, that is, the hostility between us."  -- Ephesians 2:14

Upcoming Events

September Presbytery Gathering: The September 30, 2025, Presbytery Gathering at Wayside Presbyterian Church will focus on racial justice, including antiracism training for the presbytery and resources for creation and implementation of the antiracism policies that are now mandated by the Book of Order. Click HERE for details and to register to attend.

Brave Spaces Book Study: A new Brave Spaces book discussion group will be forming in Fall 2025. If you'd like to be notified when more information is available, leave a comment HERE.

Resources

Click HERE for a list of resources for congregations and individuals. Check back soon -- the resource list is currently undergoing updates and curation to make it more user-friendly!

Congregational Facilitators

Trained facilitators are available to work with congregations and sessions as they grow in their ministry of racial justice. Contact us HERE if your church would like to consider working with a facilitator.

2025-2026 Goals

If any of these projects sound interesting to you, we’d love to have you get involved! Indicate your interest HERE.

  • In partnership with the Leader Team, develop a plan for the September Presbytery Gathering’s focus on racial justice.
  • Develop and deploy training modules to support sessions in creating and implementing the antiracism policies that are now required by the Book of Order.
  • Clarify the extent to which the Racial Justice Task Group will be involved in the Presbytery’s efforts to support immigrants and refugees.
  • Launch a cohort for preachers interested in exploring how to preach about racial justice in these difficult times.
  • Organize a Presbytery-wide field trip to attend the Juneteenth celebration that Second Presbyterian Church of West Chester is helping to organize (along with other churches and community organizations) on June 19, and encourage participation in other local Juneteenth events.
  • Learn who is organizing advocacy efforts to advance racial justice in our local areas and build relationships with them.
  • Host educational daytrips (to museums, historic sites, churches, etc.) and follow-up conversations. Intentionally invite both people from the Presbytery’s congregations and others from our communities.
  • Offer the Brave Spaces Book Study for a new group of participants.
  • Organize training for the Presbytery in the Courageous Conversation model of facilitating productive dialogue about contentious issues.