Our Mission

Our mission is to play a leadership role in the work of resisting and dismantling racism and the policies and practices that flow from it and sustain it, within and beyond our congregation.

We will help our congregation recognize and set aside a culture of white supremacy and truly realize its aspiration of being a welcoming, equitable, and inclusive community. We realize that the dominant culture of white supremacy harms all our community members, but most particularly those who are Black, Indigenous, and other people of color as well as those impacted by the intersectional effects of gender oppression, heterosexism, ableism, and classism.

In pursuing these ends, we will…

• work to dismantle white supremacy culture;
• maintain an antiracist focus that promotes equity, justice, and inclusion;
• continue to educate ourselves and others about all aspects of white supremacy culture, and how we might dismantle it;
• work to maintain cultural diversity within our action group;
• take direction from, support the efforts of, and collaborate with communities of color;
• support and collaborate with other marginalized communities;
• join hands with the Portland faith community and with local and national advocacy and activist groups to help build a city, state, and nation committed to justice, equity, and personal wellbeing; and
• be mindful that mistakes will be made, that we will seek to rectify them and humbly begin again in love.

Anti-Racism Learning Circles

One of our most important programs are the Anti-Racism Learning Circles. The Antiracism Learning Circles are small discussion cohorts that go through a book or podcast. These Circles were formed in the Fall of 2020 as an educational response to the unrest due to the murder of George Floyd. You can learn more about them here.

Upcoming ARJAG Programs

We sponsor several programs a year. Watch this space for more details.