Dear Sacred Ground facilitators and organizers,

We are so pleased to be writing with a host of announcements that represent the fruition of many months, even years, of collaborative effort, which bring Sacred Ground into its next chapter and next triennium. To share more and celebrate these developments, we will host a webinar on Tuesday, Feb. 15, from 2-3:30 p.m. ET (1 PM CT, noon MT, 11 AM PT, 10 AM Hawaii, 9 AM Alaska). Read on for those details and the multi-part release schedule.

PHASE ONE

Today we are very happy to announce on behalf of the Presiding Bishop’s Office, Department of Reconciliation, Justice and Creation Care (where Sacred Groundresides):

1.   The licenses for those videos and readings in the curriculum that require them have been renewed for another triennium – for use of the series by Episcopal institutions (churches and other entities).

2.   We have successfully expanded that licensing to allow faith-based institutions beyond The Episcopal Church to organize their own Sacred Ground circles (with some appropriate usage caps respecting the rights of the content creators).

You can find more details about the expanded availability on a new Sacred Ground News page.

Next, we have some exciting announcements on behalf of Sacred Ground and the Union of Black Episcopalians. Thanks to a Becoming Beloved Community grant, over the past two years, we have been working with UBE to look at best practices for Sacred Ground implementation and facilitation involving Episcopalians of color. The collaboration expanded and deepened as we ascertained the efficacy of the curriculum for persons of color; surveyed facilitators, participants and organizers; and examined current practices as related to white and interracial circles. We are pleased to announce and release together now:

3.   A “Shortlist of Recommended Best Practices for Organizing and Facilitating Circles” –  these recommendations emerged out of our collaborative evaluation work, including the summer 2021 partnership with external evaluator Indigena Consulting. Highlight: One of the key findings that emerged was that Interracial Circles have been truly valuable to many people of color, not just to white participants. We thus recommend IRCs more than we did previously.

4. UBE, in collaboration with SG, has produced an invitational video that speaks to those discerning whether to form or join a circle and whether to form a White Work Circle or an Interracial Circle. “We Bless You” is a wonderful new resource that can be found on UBE’s YouTube channel and and on the Sacred Ground site.

WEBINAR

We are co-hosting a webinar with UBE Tuesday, Feb. 15, from 2-3:30 p.m. ET (1 PM CT, noon MT, 11 AM PT, 10 AM Hawaii, 9 AM Alaska). to share more about all of the above and to go over the forthcoming releases described below, including identifying curricular changes and enhancements that current facilitators will want to be made aware of before they happen. This will also be a moment to celebrate all the contributions made by so many people to all of these Sacred Ground developments! Register here.

PHASE TWO

We are targeting mid-March for the following to be released:

5. A comprehensive evaluation report from Indigena Consulting – with results drawn from 2,890 surveys, eight focus groups, and input from key consultants and advisors.

6. Curricular and resource updates – thanks to input from curriculum review consultants, a curriculum review committee of veteran facilitators, UBE, and other advisors, we will be announcing a few changes to the core curriculum and will have populated the long-awaited “Deeper Dive” lists of supplementary materials, including resources recommended by persons of color.

7. Edits to the web pages will be made in order to incorporate best practices and the implications of evaluation results into the relevant documents.

ADDITIONAL MILESTONE

We reached the milestone of 2,118 registered circles on Dec. 31, 2021, which means that an estimated 25,416 people have participated in the series (average circle size: 12). We are eager to support the next 25,000, whether in the Episcopal branch of the Jesus movement or beyond!

We remain your co-conspirators in the labyrinth walk toward telling the truth, repairing the breach and being beloved community,