[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Ready for some good news? I’ve got two things for you.
To start, last Sunday I shared with you that there was a new local coalition emerging, led by people of color, directly addressing racism in our community. I invited you to take a leap of faith and support their leadership with financial support. My first piece of good news is that between the two services, you gave over $4,000! Which meant I got the pleasure of calling the leadership team and letting them know that before they’d barely begun, they already had financial support in place. Thank you for your generosity, your trust, and your faith.
Which brings me to the second piece of good news. The group has officially launched, under the name, BIPOC (Black Indigineous People of Color) Alliance of Larimer County, with a leadership team of Queen, Andrew Naves, and Johanna Ulloa Giron. Their mission is to elevate and advance BIPOC in Larimer County, center BIPOC voices and experiences, eliminate and overturn racism and discrimination in our community, all while ensuring joy, celebration and self-care in the movement.
To begin, they have established a set of 8 priority action areas: Policing, Education, Legislation and Policy, Latinx Alignment, Positions of Power, Mental Health, BIPOC Training, and White Allies – and are forming task forces to address each of these areas, each coordinated through a cross section of activists and leaders in Larimer County. As soon as I have more information about how to connect and support their work, I will let you know.
The powerful leadership and organizing already at work, creating plans to address the specific and often longstanding issues and unjust systems at work in our local community – this is such good news. Bearing witness to their vision and their dreams for our community gives me hope.
The particular power of this new coalition is the way it is grounded in our specific community. Because change can’t happen generically. It has to happen in the context of real relationships, located in a particular location – a place and a people with a history, a present, and a future that can be dreamed, and created, and lived into.
The way that courageous love calls us in our own communities is the inspiration for our new worship series that starts this Sunday, Loving Where You Live: Backyard Practices of Courageous Love. We’ll be delving into the reasons for community, the challenge to have the “awkward conversations” with the people nearest you, and the way that all this connects to democracy for all of us today.
Join us this Sunday at 9 am ONLY – on Zoom, Facebook, the website, or your smart TV. At 11 we’re having our annual meeting where we will definitely have MORE GOOD NEWS TO SHARE! Everyone is welcome to join us – be sure to go to this link for the meeting itself. More information below.
Sending love to you, wherever you are, and however you’re feeling in this moment.
In faith,
Rev. Gretchen[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
Katie believes the best things in life are the result of collaboration and diverse perspectives coming together to produce something greater than any individual could. She is passionate about systems, efficiency and collaboration for better community outcomes. She loves dreaming up the big picture and drafting the roadmap to make it happen. She has a background in operations, fundraising, communications and program development, as well as over a decade of nonprofit management experience in Northern Colorado.
Her greatest joy in life comes from her family. Her husband, Steven, a principal at Wellington Middle School, and daughters Emmaline and Esmae are the lights of her life. Together they love mountains, music and all kinds of food. She is passionate about women supporting other women in all stages of life and especially through the critical moments that make or break us. She believes that one of the most important things in life is to be kind.
Being outdoors makes her soul come alive. It always roots her in gratitude and is one of the reasons she loves living in Fort Collins.