Committee to Dismantle White Supremacy Funds “Radical Welcome” Workshops
Clark-Grace UCC to host workshops led by Dr. LaDonna Butler beginning Sunday, October 4
Clark-Grace UCC, which recently celebrated 13 years as a multicultural community, will host a six-month journey of “Radical Welcome” workshops beginning in October. Each workshop will build shared commitments and sustainable congregational practices. The workshops are made possible by funding from the Minnesota Conference UCC’s Committee to Dismantle White Supremacy. All UCC congregations are encouraged to attend.
The workshops will be led by Dr. LaDonna Butler, a beloved community leader in South St. Paul. Dr. Butler is a counselor, educator, licensed clinical therapist, organizational consultant, and ministry leader, with more than 20 years of experience in facilitating courageous conversations across differences.
“Radical welcome asks us to intentionally examine power, confront exclusion, and create practices that support equity, accountability, and genuine belonging,” Dr. Butler said. “Belonging requires more than being invited into the room. It calls us to listen deeply, make room for difference, tell the truth with love, remain curious about one another, and create communities where people can experience both healing and delight.”
Beginning October 4 and continuing one Sunday per month, the topic of the workshop will be introduced at the worship service at Clark-Grace. A one-hour workshop immediately follows the service. The workshops will first examine how faith invites us into radical welcome and how we are all deeply, unconditionally loved by God and called to reflect that love by living into radical welcome. The workshops over the six-month journey will also include building relationships, examining power, strengthening practices as a congregation, and identifying ways to intentionally continue radical welcome into the future.
The goal is for churches such as Clark-Grace, says Dr. Butler, is to be “better equipped to live into its vision of radical welcome, as a beloved community—formed by Christ, grounded in truth, committed to liberation, sustained by joy, and sent into the world as a witness of God’s welcome, justice, and love.”
Clark-Grace and Dr. Butler invite any and all congregations to join the worship and workshops. Dr. Butler’s sermons will also be posted on the church’s website. Monthly updates and insights from the workshops will be shared in COMMAntary.
“Applying what we will gain from this insightful and motivative workshop has the potential to dramatically enhance our sustained mission to become a radically inclusive congregation,” says Rev. Oliver G. White, pastor at Clark-Grace. “Ultimately, we will be empowered to establish meaningful and loving relationships with everyone who enters our faith communities.”
The first service/workshop in the six-month journey is Sunday, October 4, at 10 am. Clark-Grace UCC is located at 779 15th Ave N, South St. Paul. If you are unable to attend in person, you can find the Zoom link on the Clark-Grace website.