A Letter from the Reparations Team

The following letter was sent via email on Wednesday, June 7, 2023

Dear HTLC Members,

Our congregational work on reparations is still in its early stages. Specifically, the Reparations Task Force was formed to explore how HTLC may concretely mend some of the harms caused by white supremacy and colonization. There is a lot to unpack just in that one sentence! 

At this initial stage, our team’s work involves connecting with as many folks as possible, and listening especially to those who identify as racially minoritized members of our congregation. We will connect with various HTLC constituencies (e.g., council and committee members, among others) over the next few months. Given the centrality of race to this discussion, and in awareness of the fact that our team is currently composed of white people, we are first going to reach out to folks who may identify in some way as BIPOC - Black, Indigenous and/or people of color.

To be clear, the purpose of these conversations is to create an opportunity to grow relationships and for HTLC members to be able to ask the team any questions and share thoughts/concerns that they/you may have. We will not ask anyone to “bless” this work or obligate you in any way. Rather, the aim is for the team to hear the thoughts/questions/ideas–whatever people wish to share–and we will answer any questions as best we can. 

Moreover, if you—however you may identify in terms of race/ethnicity–wish to meet with one of us, feel free to reach out at any time and we will respond promptly. Our emails are embedded in our names below.

In Christ,

Josh Brown and Aana Vigen, Reparations Task Force Co-Chairs

Task Force Members: Kerry Fleming, Kris Hiepler-Harwig, Margaret Ann Sanders, Marji Shannon, Barbara Wahler, Pastor Craig Mueller.

PS A bit of context: the Reparations Task Force is a subgroup of the larger congregational HTLC Anti-Racism Ministry. We are using a curriculum created by Sacred Reckonings as a guide. In addition, Pastor Craig is participating in a six-month collaborative series of meetings, led by creators of this curriculum, with others who are doing reparations work within their congregations.