If we are to be true heralds of the Gospel, building up the Body of Christ by witnessing to love and restorative justice, then we must cherish and respect the dignity of all bodies. Racism permeates our social, ecclesial, and academic institutions. For people of faith, called to conversion and new life in the Spirit of Jesus Christ, every day is an invitation to repentance and transformation. Repenting of racism requires a commitment to antiracism.
The work to create and sustain an environment of critical reflection and open dialogue about instances of racial injustice at the CSTM and in our faith communities is a shared responsibility among all members of the CSTM, past and present. No one group (faculty, staff, administrators, students, alums) is exempt from investigating and/or calling out their own complicity; and the participation of all groups is essential in forming a racially just community of faith.
Formation for Racial Justice: CSTM Strategic Plan was developed by the CSTM’s Committee on Race and Ethnicity (CORE) at the conclusion of a school-wide assessment and consultation, involving faculty, staff, administrators, students, and alums. Based upon the priorities that emerged from the consultative process, the CORE identified areas of focus and crafted a three-year strategy, presented below. This strategy aligns with and develops the goals set forth in the 2018 CSTM Strategic Plan, “Pursuing the Magis Together,” specifically Strategic Directions 2.1 and 4.3.
Ministers, educators, theologians, and staff formed by and employed at the CSTM should reflect the multiracial, multicultural church, engage in critical reflection and honest dialogue around issues of racial injustice, and work to create racially just communities of faith.
The CSTM curriculum requires students to engage with and learn from scholars of color, and to minister to the multiracial and multicultural communities that make up the church.
Initiatives:
1. Conduct a review of school-wide and program-specific requirements to identify and address lacunae in the CSTM curriculum around issues of race/racism and cross-cultural theology and ministry.
2.Faculty integrate research and writings from diverse voices across syllabi.
3. Faculty use an antiracist pedagogy in their courses for the CSTM.
Members of the CSTM community engage in critical reflection and honest dialogue around issues of racial injustice, and work to create racially just communities of faith.
Initiatives:
1. Conduct a third-party assessment of the racial climate of the CSTM to identify areas of strength and growth.
2. Create and maintain an internal website with resources to support faculty, administration, and student research and engagement.
3.Integrate DEI goals into annual employee performance review
4.Continue to create inclusive programming and opportunities for students of difference; international, off-campus students, LGBTQ, and BIPOC.
5.Create effective partnerships to expand the CSTM’s engagement in formation for racial justice.
6. Provide student-centered formation and training opportunities that support/promote critical reflection and honest dialogue in the classroom and other student gatherings.
Students, faculty, staff and administrators reflect the multiracial, multicultural communities that make up the global church.
Initiatives:
Student Enrollment and Retention
1. Implement strategies to recruit underrepresented students.
Employment: Faculty, Administration, and Staff
1.Continue commitment to increase the number of CSTM ֱfrom underrepresented populations.
Hiring Practices and Policies
Retention Practices and Policies
2.Increase the number of staff/administrators from underrepresented populations
Hiring Practices and Policies
Retention Practices and Policies
3.Include and center students, administrators, and ֱfrom underrepresented communities in CSTM structures of decision-making and power.
STM publications (print, web, social), reports, and physical spaces and social environment clearly define our commitment to and identity as a racially just theological institution.
Initiatives:
1. CSTM publications, websites, and social media platforms clearly define a school-wide commitment to racial justice and cross-cultural theology and ministry.
2. Amplify and leverage existing bias and feedback reporting channels for students, faculty, and administration/staff.
3. Art and environment of the school reflects the diversity of the global church.
4. CSTM CORE delivers bi-annual reports of its proceedings to the school community.
5.Create and promote anonymous reporting structures for bias-related incidents at the CSTM.