Traces of the Trade reflections

Today the Seabury community set aside phone calls, classes and other work to watch the movie Traces of the Trade: A Story from the Deep North and reflect together with each other and author Katrina Browne. The movie itself is powerful, beautiful, inspiring, painful and challenging. A film I would encourage everyone to take the time to see and to share. The afternoon was spent sharing together in small groups around a series of questions such as 'if I work for or worship with a community whose endowment depends heavily on money made by slaveowners, how might I choose to address that history?' and 'what practical steps can I take take in my own sphere of influence to help the Episopal Church and the larger church writ a new chapter?' Interspersed with the open and heartfelt sharing about the film's message and impact on us personally came sobering insights from John Dally about the painful facts of the Episcopal Church's history, the terrible truth of slavery existing even into the 1950s in this country and the reality of slave camps across the world today consisting primarily of women and children who pick our coffee or cocoa or make our clothes. I'll post more of this information and the links in the next few days. Right now I find myself reeling--from the powerful impact of the thoughtfulness and necessary discomfort raised by the film and the facts, from the open and honest conversation of the participants today and from wondering within my heart how today will impact the rest of my life. I give thanks for the ministry and life of Newland Smith, in whose honor so many gave to fund Anti-racism work at Seabury.
what can you and I do? what can places like Seabury and other communities of faith and learning do?