Racial Healing Commission
Grounded in Justice. Guided by Mercy. United in Hope.
Scripture for the work
“What does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?”
Micah 6:8
Mission
We seek God’s help to work in healing our woundedness and to forge a life together where unity overcomes estrangement, forgiveness heals guilt, and joy conquers despair.
Who We Serve
We serve the Episcopal Diocese of Louisiana by promoting racial healing, reconciliation, and beloved community.
Get Involved
Please contact Co-Chairs:
Luanne Francis: luannef2021 [at] gmail [dot] com
Molly Ann Phillips: mafphillips [at] gmail [dot] com
in action
Guided by our Baptismal Covenant
Our Baptismal Covenant calls us into unity across every boundary. Compelled by that promise, we dedicate ourselves to the ongoing work of racial reconciliation — listening deeply, acting justly, and cultivating a diocese where all people truly belong.
Guided by God’s call to justice, mercy, and humility, we create opportunities for learning, sharing our stories and histories, fostering understanding, building relationships, and encouraging faithful action rooted in the love of Christ.
In our ongoing spiritual formation, we use prayer, worship, advocacy, intentional action, and education to become the Beloved Community.
Dismantling Racism Training
The EDOLA Commission for Racial Healing invites you to a brave space of learning and growth in order to faithfully engage in the work of healing and wholeness to which God is calling us. Based on the Dismantling Racism training offered through the Absalom Jones Center for Racial Healing in Atlanta, Georgia, this training will “seek to increase racial healing and reconciliation.” This training is for all members of the church and is especially appropriate for clergy, church staff, and ministry leaders.
Please note the following expectations before signing up for a training:
We are only accepting new participants at this time. If you have already attended a Dismantling Racism Training in the Diocese of Louisiana, please do not sign up. We will be offering additional trainings in the future for those who have already attended.
If you sign up, we ask that you commit to attending the full day. Arriving late or leaving early is not respectful of the other participants or the trainers. If you are unable to attend the full day, please sign up for a different training day.
Leadership & Contact
Co-Chairs:
Luanne Francis (All Saints, River Ridge)
Molly Phillips (St. Margaret’s, Baton Rouge)
Commission:
The Rev. Robert Childers, Chaplain
The Very Rev. Stephen Crawford (St. Mary’s, Franklin)
The Rev. Daniel Hopkins (St. Margaret’s, Baton Rouge)
Rose Rotger (St. Margaret’s, Baton Rouge)
Roland Wallace (Historic St. Luke’s, New Orleans)
Tamika Gerhardt (Episcopal Diocese of Louisiana, Missioner)
For further information or questions, please contact our Co-Chairs:
Luanne Francis: luannef2021 [at] gmail [dot] com
Molly Ann Phillips: mafphillips [at] gmail [dot] com
Upcoming Events
Past Events
Jackson, MS Pilgrimage
Jackson, MS Pilgrimage
EDOLA invites you to join a pilgrimage to Jackson, Mississippi—a city that stood at the heart of both the Jim Crow South and the Civil Rights Movement. Together, we’ll journey through our shared history and reflect on what it means for us today as citizens and child...
Racial Healing Commission Documentary Film Screening: Sugarcane
Racial Healing Commission Documentary Film Screening: Sugarcane
A timely, award-winning documentary inviting reflection, understanding, and conversation. Viewer discretion is advised.
Out of the Shadows into the Light: A Liturgy of Hope and Healing
Out of the Shadows into the Light: A Liturgy of Hope and Healing
The Racial Healing Commission of the Diocese of Louisiana welcomes The Rev. Canon Stephanie Spellers to lead us on the next steps toward beloved community as the guest preacher.
Related News & Stories
Pilgrimage to Jackson, MS
We traveled to a city central to both the Jim Crow South and the Civil Rights Movement to reflect on our shared history and what it means for us today as citizens and children of God.
Out of the Shadows into the Light with the Rev. Canon Stephanie Spellers
We gathered for a powerful evening of prayer, music, and community as the Racial Healing Commission of the Diocese of Louisiana welcomed the Rev. Canon Stephanie Spellers. This liturgy wove together prayer, song, scripture, and proclamation, inspiring us toward a...
Our Partners
Resources for Racial Healing
Websites, Videos, Bibliographies, and Study Resources
From The Episcopal Church Resources for Racial Reconciliation and Justice
- Presiding Bishop’s Office
- A Way Forward: Reflections, Resources & Stories Concerning Ferguson, Racial Justice & Reconciliation: advocacy.episcopalchurch.org/episcopal/AWayForward
- Resolution A183, Recommended Study Book of the Triennium: newjimcrow.com/
- Lenten series on racial justice from ChurchNext: www.churchnext.tv/library/categories/social-justice Especially recommended: “Spirituality and Racial Justice” with Presiding Bishop Michael Curry
- Videos and readings from Trinity Institute 2016, “Listen for a Change: Sacred Conversations for Racial Justice”: www.trinitywallstreet.org/trinity-institute/2016/resources Especially recommended: the Rev. Dr. Kelly Brown Douglas’ video presentation
- Fifty Years Later: The State of Racism in America, by The Episcopal Church and the Diocese of Mississippi: www.episcopalchurch.org/page/state-racism
- Racial Justice Bibliography, compiled by theological educators: rjb.religioused.org/
- Province I Resources: www.province1.org/exploring-diversity-and-nurturing-cultural-competency
- Beloved Community: Commission for Dismantling Racism in the Diocese of Atlanta: www.episcopalatlanta.org/Dismantling_Racism/
Formation and Training Organizations
-
- Crossroads Antiracism Organizing and Training: www.crossroadsantiracism.org
- Duke Center for Reconciliation: divinity.duke.edu/initiatives/cfr
- Kaleidoscope Institute: www.kscopeinstitute.org/
- People’s Institute for Survival and Beyond (especially the Undoing Racism Program): www.pisab.org
- Seeing the Face of God in Each Other: www.episcopalchurch.org/library/document/seeing-face-godeach-other-antiracism-training-manual-episcopal-church
- Traces of the Trade (based on the film of the same name): www.tracesofthetrade.org
- VISIONS Inc.: www.visions-inc.org
- The Winter Institute for Racial Reconciliation: winterinstitute.org
Book Recommendations
- Becoming the Anti-racist Church: Journeying Toward Wholeness by Joseph Barndt (Mar 1, 2011)
- Free of Charge: Giving and Forgiving in a Culture Stripped of Grace by Miroslav Volf (Jan 24, 2006)
- Inheriting the Trade: A Northern Family Confronts Its Legacy as the Largest Slave-Trading Dynasty in U.S. History by Thomas Norman DeWolf
- It’s the Little Things: The Everyday Interactions that Get under the Skin of Blacks and Whites by Lena Williams (January, 2002)
- Lifting the White Veil: An Exploration of White American Culture in a Multiracial Context by Jeff Hitchcock, J. ( January , 2002)
- No Future Without Forgiveness by Desmond Tutu (Oct 17, 2000)
- Racial Sobriety: A Journey from Hurts to Healing by Clarence Earl Williams (August 28, 2002)
- Reconciliation: The Ubuntu Theology of Desmond Tutu by Michael Jesse Battle (July 1, 2009)
- Remember: The Journey to School Integration by Toni Morrison (May 2004)
- Seeing God in Each Other by Sheryl Kujawa-Holbrook (Editor) (March, 2006)
- The Church Enslaved by Tony Campolo and Michael Battle (May, 2005)
- The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander (Jan 5, 2010)
- Where the Edge Gathers: Building a Community of Radical Inclusion by Yvette A. Flunder
- White Like Me: Reflections on Race from a Privileged Son by Tim Wise (September, 2011)
- Yet With a Steady Beat: The African American Struggle for Recognition in the Episcopal Church by Harold T Lewis (January, 1996)