WINCHESTER, Mass. - BostonChron -- The Dock C. Bracy Center for Human Reconciliation today announced its second year of technical support of an interfaith dialog series, Howard County Courageous Conversations on Race and Religious Bias (HoCo Courageous Conversations).

"There are many important and courageous conversations worth having today. I believe the conversations made possible by Courageous Conversations on Race and Religious Bias are among the most important. I have participated in the program since its beginning. The experiences shared by others have deepened my understanding of those whose lives, faiths, races and cultures differ from mine. That understanding has led to an appreciation and love that continues to inform and enrich my life." -- Cari Larkins, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

As a learning organization, the Center seeks to provide opportunities to promote understanding and empathy. HoCo Courageous Conversations interfaith dialog series provides participants with a facilitated opportunity to connect with others.

"As a member of the community and past facilitator, these types of conversations are critical for interfaith understanding and growth. The Dock C. Bracy Center for Human Reconciliation is pleased to help provide technical support for this series, as it aligns with our shared vision." -- Randee Wilding, Chief Operating Officer

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HoCo Courageous Conversations was formed in 2017 by a coalition of faith leaders to bring people together to share and learn from each other's perspectives on race, ethnic and religious bias; and in the process build bridges of cooperation and mutual respect in our community.   This effort was championed by the late Honorable Elijah E. Cummings, Maryland State Delegate Vanessa Atterbury and organized by a team of six founding Howard County interfaith leaders including Rev. Dr. Robert A. F. Turner of St John's Baptist Church, Rabbi Dr. Susan Grossman of Beth Shalom Congregation, Rev. Paige Getty of Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Columbia (https://uucolumbia.net/), Father Gerald Bowen of St. John the Evangelist Roman Catholic Church (https://sjcolumbia.org/), Shehlla Khan of Dar al Tawqa Mosque (http://taqwa.net/), and Rev. Rod Miller of Mt. Vernon Place United Methodist Church (https://mvp-umc.org/). From our original six founding congregations, over 55 congregations and ethnic groups are now represented. Participants have developed new perspectives and friendships; have connected to take action on racial injustice and religious and ethnic bias; and have continued to meet regularly to further interfaith dialogues and activities.

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The dialogs are based on curriculum originally developed by Essential Partners (https://whatisessential.org/impact-stories/cour...), made possible by a grant from the Horizon Foundation (https://www.thehorizonfoundation.org/portfolio/...).

The 2023 HoCo Courageous Conversations dialog series theme is "Courageous Love" and begins on Tuesday, February 7th.  To learn more about HoCo Courageous Conversations, please visit their website (https://www.hococourageousconversations.com/). Registration begins Monday, January 23, 2023.

About the Dock C. Bracy Center for Human Reconciliation

The Dock C. Bracy Center is committed to human reconciliation and the eradication of racism and other forms of human oppression. Our work focuses on healing the internal emotional and cognitive harms that have allowed racism to continue to thrive in our society. We support the efforts of many other groups and individuals by providing opportunities for learning and self-reflection so that strategies to eradicate racism can become more successful. Additional information about the Center can be found by visiting the website (http://www.dcbcenter.org/) and by following @dcbcenter.