Anti-Racism Ministry
Immigrant Partnership Ministry Kickoff
"I was a stranger and you welcomed me."
Matthew 25:35
Immigrants and the Bible Workshop by Casa Chirilagua
Saturday, July 11
10 AM – 12 PM
GSLC's Community Outreach Committee and Immigrant Partnership Ministry have collaborated to bring our congregation this opportunity, hosted by Casa Chirilagua. Their team will help us learn about what the Gospel tells us about immigration.
Sunday Worship
10 AM
Guest preacher: Rev. Stephen Deal, who serves as our ELCA missionary in Central America
Faith moment talk: Patricio Virgili will share about the Immigrant Partnership Ministry and our Gospel calling
Conversation with Pastor Stephen Deal
Monday, July 13
7 PM
GSLC lounge (across from the worship space)
Pastor Deal will speak at the July GSLC church council meeting, We’ve asked him to share 3 things he would like us to know and ways we can help. All interested folks are invited to attend.
About Immigrant Partnership Ministry
In Matthew 25, we hear Jesus' words: "I was a stranger and you welcomed me." It's one of the most direct teachings we have about what love looks like in action. Jesus tells us plainly that how we treat the stranger is how we treat him.
This is why Good Shepherd is launching a renewed immigrant neighbor effort—because our faith calls us to see Christ in those who arrive seeking safety, stability, and community.
As an ELCA congregation, we stand in a tradition that affirms the dignity of all people and calls us to accompany newcomers with compassion, advocacy, and solidarity.
Our renewed Immigrant Neighbor effort is not charity—it is relationship. It is listening, learning, and walking alongside people who are already our neighbors. It is offering presence, resources, and the steady message that you are not alone.
Immigrant Partnership Ministry meets monthly on the first Wednesday at 8 PM at GSLC. All are welcome!
Questions? Contact Lori Strauss
GSLC Anti-Racism Planning Meeting
3rd Sunday of the monthly
Sunday, July 19
11:15 AM – 12:30 PM
GSLC lounge (main level, across from worship space)
Or via Zoom (see below)
If you're interested in participating in or helping to plan GSLC's anti-racism ministry—join us! All are welcome, whether you'd like to attend occasionally or join the team.
Each gathering also includes a short discussion component on a topic or current event where we apply our faith to ask questions, consider meaning outside the church walls and practice speaking up for justice should a situation in our daily lives call for it.
Meeting ID: 892 4563 0771
Passcode: 187851
Questions? Contact Lori Strauss or Corinne Baker
Savings & Trust
The Rise and Betrayal of the Freedman's Bank
Event originally conducted Feb. 1, 2026
Tens of thousands of formerly enslaved Black people entrusted their earnings and life savings with the Freedman's Bank, created and primarily led by White Northerners. When the bank collapsed in 1874, African American depositors lost $3.2 million ($89.1 million today).
Author, historian and UVA professor Dr. Justene Hill Edwards discusses her book, Savings and Trust: the Rise and Betrayal of the Freedman's Bank, an extensively researched history of the Freedman's Bank. Of only three books focused on the bank, Dr. Hill Edwards details the trust African Americans put in the bank and the United States, the deep betrayal of their trust, and the lasting connection to ongoing racial economic inequality. Audience Q&A and a reception & book signing follow.
Dr. Justene Hill Edwards is a leading historian of African American economic life whose work reshapes how we understand the roots of racial inequality in the United States. Her scholarship is widely recognized, award‑winning, and deeply influential in both academic and public conversations about race, capitalism, and justice. Go to Dr. Hill Edwards' full bio and learn more about her books at www.justenehilledwards.com.
Additional photos and recap coming. Meanwhile, see more photos on Facebook. All event photos courtesy of Glenn Cook Photography.
Key Efforts
Support Inclusive American History
Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbor, for we are all members of one body.
Ephesians 4:25
We invite you to support accurate, inclusive American history by becoming a member of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC). Our full American story, our hard history, is being systematically removed from public institutions. This is a critical moment to join Black churches across the country and Metro DC ELCA Synod congregations in telling the Black American experience. Together we stand for history. Together we stand for justice.
Membership is only $25 per year.
"I've been an NMAAHC member since 2016 to fully and financially support building and sustaining this museum focused on telling the American story from the perspective of African Americans and its ongoing scholarship." -Corinne Berkseth Baker
The Shape of Power Exhibit
To kick off the fall confirmation series, 7 GSLC students and 6 adults explored The Shape of Power: Stories of Race and American Sculpture at the Smithsonian America Art Museum.
Vicar Carrie talked about the experience in her Sept. 21 sermon.
Questions? Contact Corinne Baker or Denise Steene, Education Ministries Director
Striving Toward Racial Equality in the ELCA
Events originally conducted Sunday, Sept. 7
Pastor Fitch-Elliott's sermon begins at 19:45
We welcome Rev. Dr. Mona Fitch-Elliott who will preach at the 9:30 worship service and lead a discussion at 10:45 AM on striving toward racial equality in the ELCA.
From words to action:
- Promise and perspectives
- America's original sin
- Christianity and culture
- Biblical call to diversity/inclusion
- Voices
- Renewal
Rev. Dr. Mona Fitch-Elliott was born in Harlem and has lived in New Jersey from an early age, where she attend public school. After graduating college, she worked in banks and corporations before she was ordained as an ELCA pastor. She has attended the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia and Rutgers University, Newark. Most recently she completed a Doctor of Ministry at Drew University.
She has been an ELCA pastor for 34 years in New Jersey and also taught school for several of those years. She authored a novel, Jobeth, available on Amazon. She currently lives in Hoboken, loves writing, and occasionally serves churches.
Recap: Conversation with Joan
Joan Trumpauer Mulholland was a White college student who put herself on the front lines of the 1960s' Civil Rights struggle. Still an activist, Joan and her son Loki Mulholland, discussed fighting racial injustice—then and now.
Learn, Reflect, Pray, Act
See below for resources for:
- Kids & Talking with Kids
- Older Youth & Adults
Anti-Racism, Gospel & Education
GLSC's Anti-Racism Team is concerned about and following the dismantling of efforts to:
- Learn about and celebrate the diversity the triune God unfurled when they created humankind in their image.
- Continue progress made toward equity and inclusion for all people in our society and schools.
- Undermine and weaken the public school system.
Go to information for consideration through a gospel-focused lens and reflection on how it informs personal speaking and action.
Resources
We share the information and resources below as a part of our journey to learn and grapple with America's racial past and present. We seek to be an intentional part of building racial equity and justice that leads at last to the beloved community.
For Kids & Talking with Kids
EmbraceRace: Raising a Brave Generation
Talking Kids & Race webinars + online resources & articles organized around four goals to meet the challenge of raising children in a world where race matters:
- Nurture resilience in children of color
- Nurture inclusive, empathetic children of all stripes
- Raise kids who think critically about racial inequity
- Support a movement of kid and adult racial justice advocates for all children.
Alexandria Black History Museum
This local museum offers a variety of ongoing and periodic exhibitions, events and programming for kids, youth and adults with a focus on Alexandria's local Black history. In particular, look for Storytime with Young Historians in upcoming events, regularly held on Saturday mornings.
Resources for students, educators, parents and caregivers from the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History & Culture (NMAAHC).
Supporting Racial and Social Justice for All Students
A variety of resources curated by EdJustice, a program of the National Education Association.
Social Story for George Floyd (for pre-K/kindergarten students)
GSLC member, Dora Cottrol, created this video for her students and their parents that introduces the social story shared online after George Floyd was murdered in May 2020.
Talking About Race and Racism with Children
A collection of resources from Christine V. Hides' website, Weaving Faith into Everyday Life, shared by our education ministries director, Denise Steene.
Sesame Street Townhall on Racism
CNN and Sesame Street partner on Coming Together: Standing Up to Racism, a town hall for kids and families..
For Older Youth & Adults
Watch/Videos
A Vigil for Healing & Understanding
Journeying into Holy Week: This 24-hour online vigil, hosted in April 2022 by the Metro DC ELCA Synod Racial Equity Team, focused on healing, understanding and celebration of the multitude of cultures of our church.
Part One || Part Two || Part Three
A Prophetic Call to the Church
Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s call to action to the Church and fellow clergy the 1963 Letter from Birmingham Jail is grievously and regrettably relevant over 50 years later. In honor of Dr. King’s dedication to reforming the Church and American culture, listen to the African American voices of rostered leaders of the ELCA once again asserting a call for action to the Church by reading his prophetic call.
Emanuel documentary film, June 2019
Young, Gifted and Black in the ELCA
Do Black Churches Matter in the ELCA? by Pastor Lenny Duncan Part I | Part II
Sermon by guest preacher Rev. Lamont Wells
Feb. 25, 2018: Educational forum, unity service with Rev. Lamont Wells, Assistant to the Bishop and Director of Evangelical Mission at the Metropolitan NY Synod and President of the African Descent Lutheran Association
A Conversation on Juneteenth
ASALH featuring Dr. Annette Gordon-Reed
TED Talk by Mellody Hobson
Black America Since MLK: And Still I Rise
PBS Series - watch full episodes online
Read/Books, Articles
What We Miss When We Talk About the Racial Wealth Gap by Idrees Kahloon
We received permission from The New Yorker to reprint this article for discussion. Contact Patricio Virgili if you'd like a copy.
I'm Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness by Austin Channing Brown
My Grandmother's Hands: Racialized Trauma and the Pathway to Mending Our Hearts and Bodies by Resmaa Menakem
- Metro DC ELCA Synod resources: Scriptural and devotional suggestions, weekly reflections
- Discussion guide (courtesy of First Unitarian Church of Baltimore)
Dear Church: A Love Letter from a Black Preacher to the Whitest Denomination in the U.S. by Pastor Lenny Duncan
The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead
The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander
Racial injustices in the United States penal system
Multiethnic Conversations: An eight-week journey toward unity in your church by Mark DeYmaz and Oneya Fennell Okuwobi
Synod Council Letter: Racial reckoning. Lament. Recommitment
Oct. 7, 2020
Reflections/Faith Talks
- Worship resource: Nicene Creed woven with quotes from Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (pdf) by Amanda Webber for the DC ELCA Synod Racial Equity Team
- How Then, Do We Account? Sept. 2020
- Black Lives Matter Aug. 28, 2020
- A place to listen, learn. And sometimes, get it wrong. by Corinne Berkseth Baker, Sept. 29, 2019
- What’s in a name? GSLC Guiding Principle: Stand Against Injustice by Corinne Berkseth Baker, June 2, 2019
- Toward the Beloved Community by Corinne Berkseth Baker, Oct. 13, 2018
Learn About Juneteenth
- What is the significance of Juneteenth to the Black community? Smithsonian National Museum of African American History & Culture (NMAAHC)
- Why Juneteenth Matters by Shennette Garrett-Scott
- The Historical Legacy of Juneteenth, Smithsonian NMAAHC
- Juneteenth: A Time of Reflection and Rejoicing, City of Alexandria
- What Is Juneteenth? by Henry Louis Gates, Jr.
The people behind the integration of Alexandria Public Schools by Jim McElhatton
- The homeless man who made Alexandria civil rights history
- A school cook’s forgotten civil rights stand
- The day two sisters proved T.C. Williams wrong
Article Discussions - 2018
- 50 years ago, a presidential commission called out America’s ‘white racism.’ It didn’t go over well. The Washington Post
- 50 years after the Kerner Commission, a new report cites some of the same concerns about race and poverty The Washington Post
- An open letter to Colin Kaepernick, from a Green Beret-turned-long snapper by Nate Boyer in Army Times
- From a seat to a knee: How Colin Kaepernick and Nate Boyer are trying to effect change ESPN.com
- Ex-Green Beret Nate Boyer writes open letter to Trump, Kaepernick, NFL and America ESPN.com
Letter to My Son, adapted from Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates in The Atlantic
Collections
These organizations provide a variety of resources to learn about racial history and current issues through local and faith lenses.
African Descent Lutheran Association
ELCA Metro DC Synod racial equity resources
Alexandria Community Remembrance Project (ACRP)
Alexandria Black History Museum
Local Events & Businesses
Support Black- and minority-owned businesses:
Mondays at 6 PM, Westminster Presbyterian Church, DC
Fridays at 6 PM, Westminster Presbyterian Church, DC
About
Guided by GSLC's August 2015 resolution, Our Response to Racism and the Murders at the Emanuel AME Church, Charleston, SC, Good Shepherd’s Anti-Racism Team provides intentional forums to:
- Learn about the experiences, tragedies and triumphs of our Black siblings through history and to today.
- Explore and prayerfully reflect on racism, white privilege and unconscious bias.
- Stand with those who face discrimination.
- Act to end racism.
GSLC Anti-Racism Team annual reports (pdf)
Have questions or want to get involved?
Contact Corinne Berkseth Baker or Lori Strauss, Anti-Racism Team Co-Chairs
Banner Dedication
We Believe That Black Lives Matter
Do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with your God. Micah 6:8
We invite you to join us every day as we work to live into this declaration.
Dedication of
Jesus of the People by Janet McKenzie
In the mystery and wonder of God, we are each created unique and in the image of God. Jesus of the People is a reminder that envisioning God is like looking in a mirror and seeing all of God's children in our reflection.
Resolution
Good Shepherd adopted this statement and began an intentional anti-racism journey in 2015 in response to the murders of 9 African Americans in their church by a White man, confirmed in the ELCA, who stated he wanted to start a race war.
Do we not all have one Father? Did not one God create us? Why do we profane the covenant of our ancestors by being unfaithful to one another?
Malachi 2:10
Sunday Worship 9:30 AM and 10:45 AM || Sunday School 10:45 AM
Braddock & Luray, 3 blocks from the Braddock Metro
100 W. Luray Ave., Alexandria, VA 22301
facebook.com/GSluth || instagram.com/goodShepLuth
703-548-8608 || Contact Pastor Kate || Contact the church office
Contact || Directions || Child Protection Policy
Affiliations: Evangelical Lutheran Church in America || ELCA Metro DC Synod
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