Mission: to Amplify Compassion by amplifying marginalized voices in our community, including those marginalized by their race, gender, nationality, sexual orientation, or any others searching for equity. We will help challenge our congregation to amplify justice, mercy, and humility to create a more compassionate church.

Reflection – by Ashton Sherrin

As a child, I didn’t know I was racist because the unspoken rule was to sit in the front of the bus or, better yet, the car rider line.

Because the Sheriff was Gerald Hege and My Dad’s only black friend, Lamont couldn’t drive through Midway without getting a ticket,
Because back then, I didn’t know but used the colloquial name of an area in my hometown that was home to people who look a little different than me

As a teenager, I didn’t know I was racist
For laughing at those Apple to Apple cards on a mission trip with my all-white youth group
For not having a black woman as a teacher until 8th grade and a black man until college
For thinking, I could only date someone who looked like me

As a young adult, I didn’t realize it was racism
That got me out of a speeding ticket in Tennessee
That I didn’t have to be afraid of the cop that warned me my tail light was out
that I benefit from a system that hurts people who don’t look like me

So now I have to realize that being white means sometimes I’m racist
Because if I don’t understand, I won’t change
For if I don’t see it, then I can’t fix it
That I have to learn and unlearn how to be able to understand, to grow, and to change



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Join A Tu Lado - a ministry opportunity through the Migrant Assistance Project in which houses of faith partner with an immigrant family and walk with them on their journey through the immigration process in the U.S. If you are interested in joining an A Tu Lado team at Dilworth UMC please reach out to Pastor Cade for more information.

Suggested Resources
Watch: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Discussing Race by Jay Smooth
Read: A Black Man’s Fatal Shooting by the Police Exposes Ohio Congregations’ Bitterly Opposing Interpretations of Faith and Justice by Robert Klemko
Listen: A Poem for my White Friends: I Didn’t Tell You by Norma Johnson
Families: ImaginOn Black Lives Matter Live Storytime. Saturday (1/9) at 11 am




Join the Amplify Book Club as we read and discuss "Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents" by Isabel Wilkerson. If you are interested in participating in this opportunity, click here to purchase a copy of the book, and please reach out to Pastor Cade to express interest.

Are you interested in sharing a reflection in the Amplify newsletter? If you feel called to share a story, testimony, or devotion related to diversity, inclusion, and reconciliation, please reach out to Pastor Cade. The Amplify Team is open to all members who feel passionate about shaping our conversation and working for justice in and through Dilworth UMC. Please contact Pastor Cade to become a part of this important ministry.
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