Sometimes opportunities just come your way!
Join us Tuesday April 25- Wednesday April 26, in Appleton for Wisconsin’s leading equity, diversity and inclusion conference. The Toward One Wisconsin Conference aspires to create and sustain a statewide culture to understand diversity, equity and inclusion are essential to the state’s continued excellence. Toward One Wisconsin brings together leaders, professionals and advocates from a broad range of sectors, including private business, non-profit, government, health and education, to empower and employ the full talent of all who live here in Wisconsin. Wherever you are on your diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) journey, there’s something for you at Toward One Wisconsin 2023.
The conference features a variety of speakers and one close to our hearts, Rev. Traci Blackmon. Rev. Traci Blackmon is Associate General Minister of Justice and Local Church Ministries for the United Church of Christ. Rev. Blackmon’s voice is featured on many local, national and international platforms spanning the breadth of the White House to the Carter Center to the Vatican, as well as several documentaries and print publications. We have hosted Rev. Blackmon as a guest preacher in years prior right here at First Congregational.
So how does this work? First, all three of us Pastors will be attending the conference in person. As an extension of our mission to be The Church of the Open Door we are excited to form a delegation from our church to continue our journey of being more welcoming, expanding our language, gaining awareness, and learning practices that reflect the beautiful diversity that God has placed throughout this good creation. If you want to join us its simple, just follow these three steps:
1. Get online and register YOURSELF at the Toward One Wisconsin 2023 website (https://inclusivity-wi.org). You will pay your registration fee yourself via that website.
2. Once step one is done, sign up in the narthex on the sign-up sheet or by calling the church office. We will keep a list of participants and communicate with our group via that list.
3. Check your email! Pastor Nick will email you 1-2 weeks in advance with information.
Our hope is to organize a group who would enjoy attending and probably find an opportunity for a sit down dinner together. Through discussion, sharing, and prayer we can help bring to life what we learn at this conference in service to the church and all our ministries here in the Fox Valley. Once details of the conference schedule become available we will communicate our decisions around how we will spend time together. Lastly, if cost is an issue please just reach out to Pastor Nick, we are happy to find scholarships for anyone wishing to be a part of our delegation. We hope to see you as part of our delegation!
Grace and Peace,
Pastor Nick