Creating Beloved Community - April 29, 2026 - Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (Module Four)

For this gathering in April, we were joined by Rev. Dr. Andrea L. Walker and Rev. Sonja Ware for the fourth of multiple learning opportunities on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. **This special session of Creating Beloved Community lasted 90 minutes.** This learning opportunity is made possible by a grant awarded to ELCA's Coaching Ministry from the ELCA's Strategy for Authentic Diversity team. This fourth module brought together everything learned in the first three modules, discussed how bias might show up in coaching, and includes a live coaching demo around the Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI). "Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion are how we move from reality to justice!" -- Rev. Dr. Andrea L. Walker --- --- --- Rev. Dr. Andrea L. Walker is a dedicated and visionary leader in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), currently serving in her fourth call as pastor of St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Washington, DC. Since her ordination in 2000, Dr. Walker has combined deep pastoral care, theological depth, and a strong commitment to justice in all areas of ministry. In 2007, she earned her Doctor of Ministry degree from the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago (LSTC). Her doctoral thesis, “A Place at the Table: An African American Lutheran Preaching from Margins to Mainstream,” reflects her lifelong commitment to lifting marginalized voices and enriching the church through a diversity of perspectives. Prior to her current call, Dr. Walker served ELCA Global Mission as Area Director for Madagascar, West and Central Africa, where she led global partnerships with wisdom, cultural sensitivity, and an unwavering dedication to mutual accompaniment. A gifted preacher, mentor, and leader, Dr. Walker continues to inspire communities to embody the inclusive and transformative love of Christ. --- --- --- Rev. Sonja Ware is a Pastor on the roster of the ELCA and Co-Pastor at Renewed Spirit Church in Reading, PA, a ministry of the Northeastern Pennsylvania Synod. This congregation has grown out of a four church merger, which Sonja facilitated from beginning to end.  Learn more about Sonja here: https://www.elcacoaching.org/users/so... --- --- --- We began gathering online with faith leaders in March of 2020 to wrestle together with Being Church (https://www.elcacoaching.org/podcasts...) in a global pandemic, which transitioned over the summer of 2021 to Courageous Leadership (https://www.elcacoaching.org/podcasts..., as COVID revealed our perceptions and misconceptions about most things in life. Jesus is our primary model as we move toward Creating Beloved Community: Healing Together to learn together and experiment in community with a variety of spiritual practices and focus areas. "Rarely, if ever, are any of us healed in isolation. Healing is an act of communion." -- bell hooks, All About Love We believe this is in attunement with our call as Christians from: Scripture and our expanding understanding and expression of love for ALL of our neighbors MLK's Letter from Birmingham Jail (https://letterfromjail.com/) and Vision of the Beloved Community (https://www.religion-online.org/artic...) "What Is the Beloved Community and Why Is It Important?" (https://www.boundlessloveproject.org/...) "The Idea of the Beloved Community: The creative friendship of Martin Luther King Jr. and Thich Nhat Hanh" (https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/bl...) ELCA Teaching (https://www.elca.org/Faith/ELCA-Teach..., and especially our "connection to all of life" ELCA Living Our Baptismal Covenant (https://www.elca.org/Our-Work/Congreg...) ELCA Truth and Healing Movement (https://elca.org/Our-Work/Congregatio..., facilitated by ELCA's Indigenous Ministries and Tribal Relations (https://elca.org/indigenous) ELCA Ecumenical and Inter-Religious Relations (https://www.elca.org/Faith/Ecumenical...) Dr. Shawn Ginwright's "The Four Pivots: Reimagining Justice, Reimagining Ourselves" (https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-four...) And so many other diverse voices and sacred ways we engage with each other and with the world