As the Appointive Cabinet for the Minnesota Annual Conference we remain committed to carrying out our mission: to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. We are grounded by the gospel imperatives of growing deeper in love of God and neighbor, reaching more people with the good news of Jesus Christ, and healing a broken world. We also support the aspirational vision passed at the 2019 Annual Conference, which guides our work together on the foundation of being rooted in Jesus Christ, grounded in our Wesleyan heritage, inclusive of all people, and committed to justice and reconciliation.  

In our baptismal vows, we affirm that we “accept the freedom and power God gives us to resist evil, injustice, and oppression in whatever forms they present themselves.” We acknowledge the sins of racism and injustice.  They are deeply embedded and a reality in our Church and communities. Inclusivity, justice, and reconciliation require ongoing attentiveness, and we confess we too often have not kept our commitment to these values at the forefront of our work. We accept our shared responsibility to act, grow, and remain steadfast on the journey of transforming our Church, our Conference, our communities, and our world into the “beloved” community.

As the Appointive Cabinet, we commit to live into these values:

• Believing anti-racism and justice work is a spiritual discipline which includes ongoing learning, reflection, prayer, and action. This includes acknowledging that anti-racism discourse is continually evolving, and that we must continually evaluate/update how we talk about, prevent, and respond to racism.
• An embrace of discomfort, especially among our white colleagues, for the sake of courageous examination, growth, transformation and healing. This includes examining historical pain, systemic oppression, interpersonal violence, spiritual harm, and other layers of the reality of racism.
• Intentional space for marginalized voices to share stories, organize efforts, and steer Conference efforts.
• Celebration and embrace of diversity in all its forms, with an understanding that different does not mean deficient but instead enriches us all.
• Integrity in leading by example by engaging in Cabinet-level training, learning conversations, and building intentional relationships to foster our work toward racial harmony and social justice.  
• Solidarity with clergy of color amid an environment where public discourse and behavior is constantly evolving and varies by missional context.

We admit that we don’t have it all figured out, but we are committed to work toward a more just Annual Conference. Based on these values, these are the steps that we believe we are called to and that we are committed to lead:

• Require regular training in anti-racism/white supremacy for all clergy under appointment—including the Appointive Cabinet.  
• Support the continued creation and development of churches of color in relevant mission fields. 
• Continue to make and support cross-racial, cross-cultural clergy appointments. This year, we have begun to provide training and support for all of our new cross-racial appointments.
• Encourage all of our churches to be engaged in anti-racism study and action. 
• Identify, motivate, and equip more churches to be reflective of the diversity in their communities.  
• Form a Multi-Cultural Wisdom Team to advise the Cabinet and Conference structures. 

• Each district superintendent reflects in their annual performance review on their work and witness for racial justice and reconciliation.
• Annually, the Cabinet reports on its collective progress on these steps to the Annual Conference Session.

2020-2022 Appointive Cabinet Racial Justice Report