March 11, 2021
Last week I was introduced to the book, Disability and the Church, by Dr. Lamar Hardwick. I’m only a couple of chapters in, but I’m hooked. You can read his bio here, and below is a screenshot of his Twitter page. Diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder when he was 36 years old, he has become a vocal advocate in the church for people with disabilities.
Dr. Hardwick starts his book from a broad, diversity perspective, noting a story in the Bible known as “The Parable of the Lost Sheep”. Simply, a shepherd has 100 sheep, and one is missing, so he leaves the 99 to go find the one. He has some deep insights about the significance of that story and how those listening would have heard Jesus’ words, but he boils it down to two questions:
- Who is missing?
- Where are they?
Hardwick goes on to define diversity as ‘the active and intentional inclusion of variety’ and notes that this is a struggle because humanity tends to group things according to sameness, and that, ‘sameness is simple, and sameness is safe.’ I am excited to learn more from Dr. Hardwick and this book, as we continue to learn, identify, and make changes to address systemic racism.
Current Six Priorities
I have included our six, current priorities below with updates on those where applicable. Click or hover over to reveal details about each one of these six priorities we are focusing on right now:
ONE
Our Recruitment Action Plan will include a “Diversity and Inclusion Working Group”.This is in our workplan, please watch for more information in the Spring.
TWO
For all new leadership hires, we will intentionally advertise in communities of Black, Indigenous, and People of Colour. It is important that our leadership reflects the broad ethnicity of our communities.A Diversity & Inclusion statement has been added to external postings, which states, “Christian Horizons seeks to hire a workforce that represents the diversity of our communities where we serve. We are committed to promoting communities of belonging where Black, Indigenous, and People of Colour feel valued, respected, represented, and heard. We encourage applications from qualified candidates from members of groups with historical or current barriers to equity”.
THREE
“Workplaces of Belonging” course will be reviewed and updated to embed anti-racism education.A small working group from the anti-racism task force has been identified to review the content of the Workplaces of Belonging course and strengthen the anti-racism content.
The updated content is targeted to be in place by June 2021.
FOUR
We will consult with an external agency to provide education on anti-racism, discrimination, and inclusion.We are actively seeking and reviewing quotes from potential training/consulting companies.
FIVE
We will review and fully develop more formal policies regarding racism and discrimination.This work will happen following the education initiative noted above.
SIX
We will consult with an external agency to learn about the racial and ethnic demographics of the employees of Christian Horizons.Watch for details in next week’s On The Horizon about an employee survey that will collect this information.
Contact Us
If you have feedback or thoughts regarding this important work, please feel free to contact me. I remain available at dmilley@christian-horizons.org or 647-204-7914.
Dwayne Milley,
Vice President of Operations