Racial Reconciliation Day
Tuesday, September 24, 2019, 9:00 AM - 3:00 PM
Racial Reconciliation Day
This day is for clergy only and is required for all Canonically Resident Clergy. Retired and Licensed clergy are welcome to attend but not required.
Episcopal Diocese of Dallas clergy day, focused on a theological response to Racism, is the first step of a long-term effort by our diocese, in keeping with the whole Episcopal Church, to address the issue of race in our community. The content and plan for the clergy day comes from the efforts of a working group of clergy and laity in our diocese: The Very Rev. Robert Price, the Rev. Dr. Matthew Burdette, the Rev. John Sundara, the Rev. Christopher Steele, and Canon Carrie Headington. The problem of race—in the United States, in Texas, and in the Diocese of Dallas—is too complex to be resolved by a day of conversation. Our diocese, at the urging of Bishop Sumner, is taking on this work for the foreseeable future, and the clergy day intends to frame the issue theologically and to serve as an invitation to clergy in our diocese to become involved in this important work.
Father Matthew Burdette will be our keynote speaker for the day. Prior to his ordination to the priesthood and ministry in Dallas, Fr. Burdette completed a doctorate in theology at the University of Aberdeen, devoting half of his research to the theology of James Cone. Thereafter, he participated in the work of the Anti-Racism Commission of the Episcopal Diocese of New Jersey. He organized a year-long parish anti-racism initiative in Princeton, and facilitated monthly conversations on race at a parish in Brooklyn. Fr. Burdette has delivered numerous papers about the theology of race, and some of his writing about race has appeared in The Living Church. For our diocesan clergy day, Fr. Burdette will speak for two sessions; in the first, he will outline the issue of race theologically, and in the second he will speak about ecclesiology and race. Fr. Oliver Lee, Mother Emily Hylden and Fr. Tony Munoz will also be sharing reflections during this day.
For more information, please contact Laura Faulkner ( , 214-826-8310)