Table Talk: Conversations on Race, Inclusion, and More

Susanne Hoder is a Moderator of the Interfaith Peace Initiative and a member of the Divestment Task Force of the United Methodist Church New England Conference. Since visiting Israel and the West Bank in 2004, she has been an advocate for a just peace in the region based on equality, international law, and human rights. She has spoken at numerous conferences and written articles on the situation in the Holy Land. She has compiled research on publicly held companies that support the Israeli occupation of Palestinian land, urging churches and other organizations to withdraw their investments in these companies until Israel complies with international law.

Alicia Koutsoulieris is a long-time member of Amnesty International and is on the Board of Directors for Partners for Palestine, a nonprofit organization based in Orlando, FL. Her first trip to Palestine was in the Spring of 2016 with Eyewitness Palestine where she had the opportunity to meet with organizations and activists on the ground to get a first-hand look at how the occupation affects Palestinian and Israeli daily life.

Dewey Williams is Pastor of Mt. Bright Missionary Baptist Church in Hillsborough, North Carolina, a doctoral student at the Samuel DeWitt Proctor School of Theology at Virginia Union University, and a graduate of Duke Divinity School. In 2017, Dewey’s sermon series Joy on Death Row won the top award at Yale Divinity School’s Theology of Joy and the Good Life competition. 

We welcome Rev. Dr. Sharon Austin (Florida Conference Nominee), Rev. Ken Nelson (South Carolina Conference Nominee), and Rev. Sharon Bowers (Holston BMCR Nominee) to share on their experiences at the Southeastern Jurisdiction Conference this past November and how the church must continue to live out the work of anti-racism.

In this episode, we are joined by Rev. Estelli Ramos to discuss how race and ethnicity intersect in the Latinx experience.

About the Speaker

Rev. Estelli Ramos (M.S.W/ M.Div.) is the Associate Pastor for Joy Metropolitan Community Church and serves on the faculty of the University Of Central Florida School Of Social Work. Rev. Ramos completed his M.Div. at the Candler School of Theology where he focused his area of study in Liberation Theology and Pastoral Care. Rev. Ramos has focused his ministry and outreach to the Latino/a LGBTQ Community of Central Florida. His many years of social work practice and teaching have focused on community development, public policy, and social intervention with marginalized populations which have included youth-at-risk, street gang members, refugees, immigrants, and undocumented persons. He has an extensive background working with grassroots groups providing a host of training from cultural competency to street gang intervention.

In this episode, we celebrate and learn from antiracism ministries in the East Central District of The Florida Conference.

Panelists include:

• Rev. Heather Harding

Rev. Robert G. Johnson (St. Mark UMC, Wichita, KS) shares practical ways that churches can implement anti-racism ministries and create awareness.

About the Speaker:

Rev. Johnson has served as pastor for more than twenty-five years in a variety of ministry contexts, including inner-city, suburban, rural, college towns, college campus ministry, cross-cultural, cross-racial, a church startup, assisted-living facilities, large churches, and a megachurch. 

Additionally, Robert serves on the boards of Kansas Interfaith Action, a public policy advocacy organization; Humankind Ministries, a nonprofit focused on housing for those experiencing homelessness; and the Boys and Girls Club of Wichita. He also serves on the advisory board of the College of Health Professions of Wichita State University. He is a cofounder of Nehemiah Village, Inc., a faith-based housing development for formerly incarcerated men.

He has a B.S. in psychology from the University of Southern Mississippi, and an M.Div. from Perkins School of Theology/Southern Methodist University. 

Rev. Dr. Giovanni Arroyo, General Secretary of the General Commission on Religion and Race, shares ways that your church can implement anti-racism ministries.

About the Speaker:

As General Secretary of the General Commission on Religion and Race, The Rev. Dr. Giovanni Arroyo is the lead official of the denominational agency that cultivates racial inclusion and the full participation of all people into the work, witness, and life of The UMC. The Rev. Dr. Arroyo is responsible for modeling behavior both corporate and personal that follows the scriptural mandate for unity among many: For even as the body is one and yet has many members, though they are many members yet one body, we are all members of the one body, the body of Christ.” (1 Corinthians 12)

Rev. Erwin Lopez and Alice Williams continue the discussion on MLK's Beloved Community.

About the Speakers:

Rev. Erwin Lopez comes from a diverse background. He was born in Venezuela, his father is from Guatemala, his stepmother is from the Philippines and his half-brothers are from Spain. He graduated from Florida International University in Miami with degrees in Psychology, Sociology, and Anthropology. After his undergraduate studies he worked as a substance abuse counselor. He later pursued his Masters of Divinity from Duke Divinity School focusing on liberation theology and the theology of MLK. He also helped build the Hispanic House of Studies at Duke Divinity School, a resource center for students, pastors, and congregations to help support their efforts within the Latinx community in the US. He has served in numerous pastoral roles in Latino, African American, multicultural, and white churches. Currently, he is serving an inclusive, anti-racist ministry at the University of Central Florida. He is also a facilitator for the FLUMC Beloved Community specializing in awareness.

Alice Williams is the Florida Conference Co-Lay Leader and the co-convener of the Beloved Community. She is the president of Williams Consulting of Florida and serves as Flotilla Staff Officer – Public Affairs in the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary. She is dedicated to supporting faith-based and nonprofit organizations in achieving their mission through human resource and leadership development consulting. A lifelong Methodist, Williams has served on the Bishop’s Strategic Leadership Team, as a member of the East Central District Committee on Ordained Ministry, and member of the Conference Board of Ordained Ministry. Williams holds a Bachelor of Science in business administration with a concentration in marketing from the University of Central Florida and a Master of Business Administration from Rollins College Crummer Graduate School of Business

Dr. Miguel A. De La Torre (Iliff School of Theology) discusses the Beloved Community and the believer's ethical responsibility in a time of hopelessness.

About the Speaker:

Dr. Miguel De La Torre is an international scholar, documentarian, novelist, academic author, and scholar activist. The focus of Dr. De La Torre’s academic pursuit is social ethics within contemporary U.S. thought, specifically how religion affects race, class, and gender oppression. He has authored over a hundred articles and published forty-one books (six of which won national awards). He presently serves as Professor of Social Ethics and Latinx Studies at the Iliff School of Theology in Denver.

Rev. Robert G. Johnson (St. Mark UMC, Wichita, KS) gives viewers practical tips on how to have difficult conversations on race -- even with those you disagree with!

About the Speaker

Rev. Johnson has served as pastor for more than twenty-five years in a variety of ministry contexts, including inner-city, suburban, rural, college towns, college campus ministry, cross-cultural, cross-racial, a church startup, assisted-living facilities, large churches, and a megachurch. 

Additionally, Robert serves on the boards of Kansas Interfaith Action, a public policy advocacy organization; Humankind Ministries, a nonprofit focused on housing for those experiencing homelessness; and the Boys and Girls Club of Wichita. He also serves on the advisory board of the College of Health Professions of Wichita State University. He is a cofounder of Nehemiah Village, Inc., a faith-based housing development for formerly incarcerated men.

He has a B.S. in psychology from the University of Southern Mississippi, and an M.Div. from Perkins School of Theology/Southern Methodist University.