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Members named to the Constituting Group for Episcopal Church Coalition for Racial Equity and Justice

February 7, 2023
Office of Public Affairs

Less than a year after a coalition was first proposed to focus on The Episcopal Church’s racial equity and justice work, members of the constituting group—representing the broad diversity of the church—have been appointed by the presiding bishop and president of the House of Deputies.

The 80th General Convention voted to establish the Episcopal Coalition for Racial Equity and Justice in July, approving a resolution first unveiled in a March 2022 report by the Presiding Officers’ Working Group on Truth-Telling, Reckoning, and Healing, of which House of Deputies President Julia Ayala Harris was a member.

The coalition is described as an organizing and networking body “of Episcopal dioceses, parishes, organizations, and individuals dedicated to the work of becoming the Beloved Community.”

The constituting group—selected by Presiding Bishop Michael Curry, Ayala Harris, and the group’s chair, Ryan Kusumoto—will focus on the organizational, canonical, and legal aspects needed to shape the coalition’s work. That information will be presented at the 81st General Convention in summer 2024.

As one of its first steps, the group intends to hold listening sessions to gain broad input throughout the church.

“This is an opportunity for our church to solidify racial justice and equity as a norm,” Kusumoto said. “We will be holding listening sessions so the constituting group has a wide breath of information and understanding to set up the appropriate infrastructure.”  

In appointing committee members, Curry, Ayala Harris, and Kusumoto said they sought to expand the church’s leadership base in racial justice and equity work, seeking those with skills, talents, expertise, and commitment in this area.

“I look forward to the report that this constituting group will give to the 81st General Convention in Louisville and our collective response to this call to commit to racial justice within our church,” Ayala Harris said.

Members of the constituting group are as follows:

  • Ryan Kusumoto, chair, Episcopal Diocese of Hawaii, Province VIII
  • The Rt. Rev. Ian Douglas, Episcopal Church in Connecticut, Province I
  • The Very Rev. Miguelina Howell, Episcopal Church in Connecticut, Province I
  • The Rev. Edwin Johnson, Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts, Province I
  • The Rev. Canon John Kitagawa, Episcopal Diocese of Arizona, Province VIII
  • Zena Link, Episcopal Diocese of Western Massachusetts, Province I
  • Thomas Little, Episcopal Church in Vermont, Province I
  • The Rt. Rev. Kimberly Lucas, Episcopal Church in Colorado, Province VI
  • Crystal Plummer, Episcopal Diocese of Chicago, Province V
  • The Rt. Rev. Samuel Rodman, Episcopal Diocese of North Carolina, Province IV
  • The Ven. Paul Sneve, Episcopal Diocese of South Dakota, Province VI
  • The Rev. Rachel Taber-Hamilton, Episcopal Diocese of Olympia, Province VIII
  • The Rev. Bryan Vélez-Garcia, Episcopal Diocese of Puerto Rico, Province II
  • The Rev. Meg Wagner, Episcopal Diocese of Iowa, Province VI
  • Kent Anker, ex officio
  • Julia Ayala Harris, ex officio
  • The Most Rev. Michael Curry, ex officio
  • Michael Glass, ex officio
  • Mary Kostel, ex officio

“The creation of the coalition is not business as usual; this is a long-term commitment for our church to the work of racial truth-telling, justice, healing, and reconciliation,” Curry said. “This is a commitment bigger than the three years of a churchwide program and budget, and calling the coalition into being also is calling on us to be creative in how it is organized and structured. That work has been given to the constituting group, and that is not just bureaucracy—that is how to shape the work of this church for the future as instruments of God’s love.”

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