This workshop seeks to renew and strengthen the work of the Racial Healing, Justice and Reconciliation in parishes and worshipping communities in ECCT. Sponsored by the RHJR Ministry Network, we will share information about the network followed by a panel with representatives from justice ministries in four parishes sharing the work unfolding in their own congregations. Through conversation and guided dialogue, we will explore areas of common ground, opportunities for collaboration, and ways to support one another across the Diocese of Connecticut. Our hope is to generate fresh energy, deeper connection, and a clearer path forward—so that racial healing and justice work in our congregations is not isolated but strengthened through shared commitment and mutual encouragement.
Facilitators: Jilda Aliotta is an active lay member of Christ Church Cathedral. In the early 1990s she was one of the founding members of the Cathedral’s Uyeki Forum on Social Justice and Unlearning Racism. She is currently a member of the Racial Healing Justice and Reconciliation Ministry Network’s Core Team. Dr. Aliotta has also been active in racial justice work in her professional capacity as a faculty member at the University of Hartford. She holds a Ph.D. in political science from the University of Minnesota.
Gail Bindley-Taylor is a member of the Racial Justice, Healing, & Reconciliation Ministry Network Core Team with a focus on supporting and encouraging advocacy among parishes of ECCT. At St. Paul’s, Gail has launched the Justice Ministry team, organized the parish’s initial Black History Month and Juneteenth celebrations, and she is the team leader of the parish’s history project team which has recently completed research on the first third of the parish’s 287- year history. In the wider community, Gail has previously been active as a sexual assault advocate with the Centre for Sexual Assault Crisis Counselling in Stamford and as a mentor with Family ReEntry in Bridgeport and as a member of the KAIROS Prison Ministry Women’s Inside team. More recently, she continues to serve as a part of the school-based Norwalk Mentoring Program. In her professional life, Gail has had a long career in broadcast media and communication, including decades of service in the Public Information Offices of the United Nations. She remains actively engaged with the United Nations community as Chair of the Communications Committee of the Association of Former International Civil Servants (AFICS/NY).
Event Timeslots (1)
Session Three (2:15–3:45 PM)
-
