Sandy Bria on Sacred Ground

  Posted on February 20, 2023  by admin  No comments

My name is Sandy Bria and I wanted to take a minute to share my experience with
Sacred Ground, which is described on its website as “a film- and readings-based
dialogue series on race, grounded in faith.” Click here for a message from Bishop
Curry.
When I first heard the term Sacred Ground, it felt a little ominous and a little scary
… kind of like speaking from the lectern for the first time. I think it was the
“grounded in faith” piece that threw me. I’ve spent the past six years participating in
the race and social justice coalition, listening, learning and trying to find my voice
within the space of social justice and equity. This has been truly gut-wrenching
work and I’ve been asking myself where my faith is in all of this. Sacred Ground
sounded like another opportunity, another nudge from the universe to continue this
work. So I decided to trust in the universe and trust in the people at St. Paul’s and
dig in.

Sacred Ground consists of a series of 11 discussion circles and learning
opportunities created by the Episcopal Church as part of their Becoming Beloved
Community, which represents their commitment to racial healing and reconciliation.
Each session has required reading and video components that focus on
Indigenous, Black, Latino or Asian/Pacific American histories as they intersect with
European American histories and eventually our own American history. Through
gaining this knowledge, I am learning that I don’t know what I don’t know and that
has been invaluable to me. However, the most impactful part of Sacred Ground has
been sharing my thoughts, prayers, reactions and emotions with the people in my
Sacred Ground circle. The circles are small, intimate and trusting spaces in which
the work becomes very real.