THE ARC
"We shall overcome because the ARC of the moral universe is long but it bends toward justice." - Martin Luther King, Jr.
Introduction to Movement Chaplaincy
Faith leaders engaging in the movement for collective liberation
Tue. Jun. 23, 2026 from 10 am to 1 pm at St. John's Church at Diocesan Center
23 E Airy St, Norristown, PA 19401
Fee: $15. Scholarships are available. Email [email protected].
The Anti-Racism Commission of the Diocese of Pennsylvania is sponsoring an Introduction to Movement Chaplaincy for clergy and faith leaders offering pastoral support to those engaged in protecting civil society.
The program will be from 10 am to 1 pm on Tuesday, June 23 at St. John's Church at Diocesan Center, 23 E Airy St, Norristown, PA 19401.
The program, which is open to clergy and faith leaders from all traditions, will be facilitated by Melissa Berkey-Gerard, MDiv, a local Mennonite minister, activist and past psychosocial care coordinator for Community Peacemaker Teams.
The program will provide an overview of movement chaplaincy and help faith leaders understand the anatomy of protest and non-violent direct action, understand their role and prepare to offer pastoral presence and support.
Participants are invited to attend the weekly prayer service in support of our immigrant siblings at 2 pm on the corner of Marshall and George Streets in Norristown.
A fee of $15 covers lunch. Scholarships are available.
Please contact The Rev. Barbara Ballenger at [email protected] for more information.
Get to Know the Anti-Racism Commission
Watch The Diocesan Anti-Racism Commission: A Resource for Racial Justice and Repair (5 mins)
Featuring: ARC Co-Chairs The Rev. Barbara Ballenger and The Rev. Ernie Galaz, Commission Member The Rev. Andrea Gardner, and Friend of ARC James Massey
We Need Racial Justice and Repair Now More than Ever
As we enter more deeply into this church season after the Epiphany, the glorious white vestments of Jesus’ birth and Epiphany and Baptism are put away, and we enter into the day-to-day work of what is sometimes called ordinary time, a flash of green on these snowy winter weeks.
The Scriptures that greet us on Sundays now remind us again and again what true discipleship asks of us, what the baptismal covenant that we recited at the Baptism of the Lord currently requires of us. The Feast of Absalom Jones, which the church celebrates on 2/13, reminds us of the power of such discipleship in our own city and in the world.
In these not-so-ordinary times, the courageous action that is empowered by our Baptismal covenant is needed now more than ever.
Now more than ever racial justice and repair is essential to the work, especially as it intersects with the safety of LGBTQIA people, of women, of immigrants and people without documents, of people marginalized by poverty, illness and social abuses, and of the earth as it undergoes ever expanding climate catastrophe. The Gospel calls us to stand with those among us who are hit first and worst by threats to their human dignity now more than ever.
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