The Racial Justice Movement and Ministries Taskforce (RJMM) has created a new resource and we are grateful and pleased to share it with you and your local church.
“When the Racial Justice Movement and Ministries Taskforce of the Mountain Sky Conference of the United Methodist Church began discussing how we could create a culture of welcome, racial and cultural diversity, equality, and justice for all people within our local churches, we first asked, what do we want to build? The answer seemed simple enough… according to the Scriptures, we are to build a house of prayer for all people. But what does that look like? As we began digging deeper and asking more questions…we asked, why are we doing this? How are we going to do this? Who will do this important work?
The goal of this tool is to help local congregations assess, develop and create a culture in their congregation where all people feel welcomed, seen, empowered, and included. This work is important because as people of faith we are called to make our worship spaces and places align with God’s vision of a house of prayer for all people. We are called to humbly engage in reflection,
repentance, and renewal, both collectively and individually, as we strive to bring God’s inclusive Kin-dom here to earth.” – Introduction,
A House of Prayer for All People
This resource is comprised of two parts: A Devotion and An Inventory. The Devotion is to ground our work in Scripture. The Inventory will navigate you through matters to consider and questions to reflect on in the areas of: Space, Visual Arts and Symbols, Worship, Christian Education, and Administration and Budget.
A House of Prayer for All People
After submitting the Feedback/Rubric Questions, found at the end of this resource, your church will be awarded a $500 grant to help implement something that came out of your journey through this work.
We encourage you to review this resource and consider how it can be used in your church setting. Perhaps starting this work during Lent or engaging with it leading up to Pentecost! If you would like a partner in this work, please do not hesitate to reach out. We believe that this work is better together, we learn and grow together. If there are gaps or suggestions to improve this resource and make it more accessible for your faith community, please reach out. With God’s Spirit, we journey together!
For questions, feedback, support, or the submission of the Feedback/Rubric Questions, please contact Rev. Bich Thy (Betty) Nguyen at
bnguyen@mtnskyumc.org.
Additional local church resources from the General Commission on Religion and Race of the UMC:
Imago Dei - A Lenten Bible Study of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
Faithful Lent: Connecting the Practices of Lent and Anti-racism
Mountain Sky Appointment Announcements
Learn more