Better Know a Parishioner

I’m Nicole Sheets, and I teach in the English department at Whitworth University.

What is your history at St. John’s Cathedral, and the Episcopal Church at large?

I joke that I’m a common law Episcopalian because I’ve attended an Episcopal church off and on for the last 18 years, but I haven’t been confirmed. I moved to Spokane in 2010 and started attending St. John’s regularly the year after.

What ministries at St. John’s are you most passionate about?

I’ve heard choirs described as a church within the church, and that’s certainly been true for me at St. John’s. Janet Ahrend and Tim Westerhaus have taught me a lot about music, and what it means to sing as part of an ensemble. I love that there are professional musicians as well as amateurs like me in the choir. And it’s really an intergenerational ministry, which isn’t all that common.

The Episcopal Church has had and continues to affirm a commitment to racial reconciliation : the spiritual practice of seeking loving, liberating and life-giving relationship with God and one another, and striving to heal and transform injustice and brokenness in ourselves, our communities, institutions and society. To help cultivate this practice, we share resources to support this work each month.

Racial Reconciliation and

the Episcopal Church

Last weekend marked the one year anniversary of the white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. We in the Inland Northwest share a history of challenges from white supremacist groups and ideologies. In the past decade alone, we might remember the 2011 attempted bombing of the Martin Luther King Day parade or the racist flyers that have been repeatedly posted around town. While we are time zones away from Charlottesville, curated resources in response to those events can shed light on race relations in the United States today and help us to respond as people of faith. Learning is key to reconciliation – in order to repent and make amends, we must understand what was done and how it continues to shape our lives today. In that spirit, here are three resources that you might explore in the coming month.