Learning to See with New Eyes: LARK and Knowing Yourself

“The purposes in the human heart are deep waters; but the one who has insight draws them out.” Proverbs 20:5 

Discipleship is more than books we read or Bible studies we attend. In fact, Jesus’ first disciples were greatly shaped not only by their relationship with Jesus, but also with one another. Each of them brought their own backgrounds and contexts to their shared ministry. Through the gathering of fishermen, tax collectors, and the redeemed, Jesus embraced that we are more than any one piece of our story. In fact, the challenging pieces of our stories bring richness and depth to the ways that we follow Jesus. We embrace discipleship not through perfection but from a humble place of authenticity. 

With that in mind, there are two formative offerings this spring–offerings that will enrich our discipleship and help us to grow in relationship with one another. 

Jesus deeply understood the communities and systems in which he lived and served. He understood the institutional structures and power dynamics of the times, and he sought, served, and centered those whom these systems marginalized. As followers of Jesus, we are similarly called to minister in our own local contexts. 

EDSD’s Localized Anti-Racism Knowledge workshop equips our congregations for local contextual ministry. Over the course of a 2-day workshop, participants will hear stories of lament and hope through the actions of leaders and communities of color who have faced structural and systemic challenges across the extent of our region. Participants will then analyze and think critically about ongoing instances of racism in our neighborhoods.  

LARK supports attendees in applying what they have learned to their own lives and ministries. Through post-workshop follow-up, the program makes space for folks to nurture the relationships and resilience necessary for advancing racial reconciliation and justice within our diocese. 

LARK was commissioned by Bishop Susan in 2022 and co-designed by Mae Chao and Therese Carmona of EDSD’s Racial Justice and Reconciliation Task Force. After two “test” workshops, LARK launched its first diocesan-wide workshop in November of 2023. Last year, EDSD held two workshops, one at St. Matthew’s in National City, and another at Good Samaritan in UTC. These were attended by a total of 52 people from 23 of our 46 congregations.  

The next LARK workshop will take place at St. Luke’s in North Park on Friday, May 2, 3:30-8:30 PM and Saturday, May 3, 9:30-4:30 PM. Facilitators will include Mae Chao, Therese Carmona, and Vincent Walton. A follow-up Zoom meeting will be scheduled at the workshop. 

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While ministry is contextual, it is also relational. As disciples, we are also called to love our neighbors as ourselves. But truly understanding our neighbors–and truly understanding ourselves–requires recognizing the ways our own backgrounds shape our perspectives. This is what we call social location: the unique combination of factors or identities like race, gender, class, education, and culture that influence how we experience the world. We may be acutely aware of some of these identities. Others may be less obvious to us. ALL aspects of our social location are useful to God. 

 Every person has a social location, whether we are aware of it or not. It affects the opportunities we have, the challenges we face, and even how we interpret Scripture, engage in faith, or understand God at work in the world. By acknowledging how our own backgrounds shape our views, we can foster greater empathy, challenge biases, and work toward a more inclusive community. And, we can better understand how we have been uniquely formed to be bearers of God’s image in our times and in our world.  

 For this reason, we co-created Knowing Yourself: Ministry from a Place of Self-Awareness. During a three-hour session, attendees will have space to reflect on their own “social location” in order to name how they have been formed as bearers of God’s image, consider how their social location has equipped them for ministry and cultivate self-awareness in community to practice nurturing authentic relationships across lines of difference. 

Knowing Yourself debuted in 2024 at Leadership Academy. Based on feedback, we expanded the program to a three-hour workshop, which was hosted at All Saints, San Diego this past April, and at St. Peter’s, Del Mar in September. Across the three workshops, 54 people from 17 congregations discovered, named and shared various pieces of their own narratives and received the rich and diverse stories of those around them.   

Knowing Yourself will be offered next at St. Luke’s, North Park on Sunday, May 4 from 1-4 PM. Facilitators will include Danielle Beabout, Leighton Jones, and Rachel Ambasing.

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Both offerings provide an opportunity to dive into the deep waters, to share our insights in a community of support, to practice discipleship from a place of humble authenticity, and ultimately to return to our ministries and our lives transformed.