2025 Anti-Racism Progress at Pullen
As the year comes to an end, the Anti-Racism Committee (ARC) wanted to share its progress toward moving Pullen closer to becoming an anti-racist congregation. With the support and participation of the Pullen community this year, ARC members:
Wrote a racial bias training program and collaborated with the Personnel Committee to adopt revised guidelines for Pullen search committees. All search committees are now required to complete racial bias training and to be intentional about advertising job postings to people of color — such as with the career centers at historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) and in Black-owned publications. These new guidelines were first used by the Youth Minister search committee this past summer.
Hosted a site visit from the leadership team of In Deed and Truth (IDAT), an 18-month cohort program that invites historically white churches to tell the whole truth about their history. Since the fall of 2024, a team of Pullenites has participated in the IDAT program, and this year’s visit from IDAT leaders was designed to deepen their understanding of the Pullen community. The highlight of their visit was a program at The Table during which we brainstormed research questions about Pullen’s history through a racial lens. Pullen Archivist Renee Keever has been working tirelessly to answer these questions.
Facilitated a Sunday Group series, “Conversations with ARC,” to explore questions about race and racism, such as: What is one way you’ve had an unearned disadvantage in your life?
Debuted Pullen’s new Statement of Welcome at the Resonance Sunday service, celebrating the Pullen Music Ministry’s commitment to supporting composers of color. This Statement of Welcome is now printed on the back of every worship guide as a powerful reminder of Pullen’s values. It reads:
“You are welcome here, beloved child of God. Everything that makes you who you are—your race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, ability or disability, body size, background, culture, every gift that makes you unique—reflects the image of the Divine. We accept and affirm you just as you are, and we invite you to join us in the sacred work of anti-racism, justice-love, and radical hospitality.”
Sponsored a performance of The Road to Damascus (As Told by Grandmother to Little Red), a solo performance with live music that uses the story of Saul/Paul’s conversion experience as a call for an awakening to the role the church has played in creating and supporting our country’s inequitable criminal legal system.
Hosted a Juneteenth celebration at The Table. Juneteenth celebrates the day that news of the Union victory in the Civil War reached the last enslaved people in Galveston, Texas, in 1865, finally freeing them over two years after President Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation.
Planned and facilitated the church-wide Summer Sunday Series, “Unconscious Biases,” which explored how and why our brains sometimes make decisions based on bias and helped participants to practice concrete strategies to outsmart those biases. Through self-discovery exercises and sometimes challenging conversations, participants learned to see the Divine more clearly in others and became better equipped to advocate for racial justice.
Organized a trip to the International Civil Rights Museum in Greensboro.
Represented Pullen at the IDAT Summit in New Orleans, which marked the end of the 18-month program. The ARC participants returned to Pullen with new tools and inspiration to continue the work of telling the whole truth about Pullen’s history.
Began a partnership between Pullen and historically-Black Wilson Temple United Methodist Church in the Oberlin Village neighborhood.
Throughout 2025 — on councils and committees, in foyer groups, and during worship services — Pullen took many steps toward justice-love and pursuing reconciliation with all of God’s people, but still has work to do. ARC looks forward to continuing this journey together in 2026.
The 2025 Anti-Racism Committee
Maggie Zeillmann, Chair
Mary Moore, Vice Chair
Chalice Overy, Associate Pastor
Alyssa Rochenbach
Cas Shearin
Judy Williams
Julia Janaro
JT Crook
Pam Knight
Sam Messick
Sandy Reuschling
