Vice President, Faith Outreach, Mission and Spiritual Care

Many religious traditions celebrate holy days this month, so around the world people are being fed by the teachings and practices of their spiritual traditions that call us to live more deeply, love more boldly, and connect more intentionally to the Source that guides us.

This month, Christians are celebrating the death and resurrection of Jesus, recognizing the power of God’s love to vanquish oppression and evil. Muslims will be fasting, studying, and praying during Ramadan. This is a practice of self-discipline, sacrifice and empathy for those who are suffering, encouraging acts of generosity and charity. Jews spend seven days observing the pesach or Passover, remembering how God brought them out of captivity and bondage into freedom and new hope. In the Baha’i faith, members celebrate Ridvan, recognizing the moment that their promised one, Baha’u’llah, declared his holy status and asked his followers to obey his teachings of love, generosity and kindness toward all. Hindus and Sikhs are observing Vaisakhi, a celebration of the spring harvest and the new year, and a time of community building, generosity, cleansing and renewal.

That’s a lot of spiritual activity in one month, and we need it! There are many challenges that we face as a country and in our local communities that need the wisdom and guidance of our religious traditions.

This month, Advocate Aurora Health is embarking on a Month of Understanding, challenging ourselves to take up the work of becoming an antiracist organization. Over the next weeks, we will engage in conversations in our departments and teams that help us learn about each other and push us to move out of our comfort zones to be more active in challenging racism, however it is showing up.

As the department within Advocate Aurora Health that considers health and well-being through a faith lens, we invite you into a conversation with us about this. Racism is a public health crisis and is at the root of all of the health inequities that cause poor health for people in our communities. We cannot get to the root and create a new way of being together without that spiritual power that lives in faith communities.

We acknowledge that antiracism work is a journey and we will always be on the way, connecting with our spiritual resources to give us the wisdom and courage to create the world that reflects the justice and compassion of the Holy One. Because it’s a journey, we don’t have to have all the answers today. But it is important to get started and to be bold in whatever it is that we are doing.

Here are five actions that we are committing ourselves to during this Month of Understanding and beyond.

The resources in this newsletter are ones that we will be using in our antiracism work and that we thought might be of value to you in your own racial justice journey, as well. We know that many of you have been leading these kinds of conversations and activities for years, so we are humble in what we offer and open to what others have to share. If you have a resource that you would like to share with others or if you have ideas about other ways we move together to dismantle racism, please click here to let us know 

Advocate Aurora Health President and CEO, Jim Skogsbergh, is joining CEOs and leaders from nearly 2,000 other organizations to continue critical conversations around diversity, equity and inclusion, as part of the 'Month of Understanding,' hosted by CEO Action for Diversity and Inclusion. 

Throughout April, Advocate Aurora Health will host candid conversations around Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) and share CEO Action materials with Advocate Aurora Health team members. Among its objectives: Demonstrate the healthcare organization’s dedication to making Advocate Aurora Health a trusted workplace to have complex, and sometimes difficult, conversations about DEI.

Advocate Aurora Health has publicly reiterated its commitment to dismantling structural racism and reversing its negative effects on the health and well-being of the communities it serves.

As a member of the Healthcare Anchor Network, a national collaboration of leading health care systems, Advocate Aurora joined 38 other health institutions across 45 states and Washington, D.C. in formally recognizing racism as a public health crisis. This reflects a national amplification of a similar statement and call to action that Advocate Aurora issued in June alongside three dozen of our Chicago-area health system peers.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, violence against Asian Americans increased significantly. Racial tensions continue to run high. What does that mean for the future of our churches and neighborhoods?

Join us for a discussion about how Christians and their churches can confront hatred and seek the flourishing of their diverse communities. A dynamic panel of seasoned Asian American pastors and leaders will guide our discussion.

Truth, Racial Healing and Transformation (TRHT) is providing opportunities for Participants who have completed at least THREE previous Racial Healing Circles to continue the healing process.

Solidarity circles are an opportunity to create and build trust between participants and communities that will often serve as the foundation for other work related to racial equity and healing – e.g., changing inequitable and systemic laws and policies. Each circle consists of both group interactions and smaller, more intimate conversations between two partners. The circles are led by two TRHT trained racial healing practitioners.

Takes place on the 4th Tuesday of the month through Oct. 26. (May 25, June 22, July 27, Aug. 24, Sept. 28, Oct. 26)

Let’s face it. It’s been a tough year. You may be questioning what it means to be a religious and spiritual leader during times of stress and crisis. You may feel like you are being asked to walk on water, lead through a wilderness and do the impossible.

Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) Educators from Advocate Aurora Health invite you to an opportunity to reflect on our times and what it means to be a leader. Sessions will allow you to reflect on your practice as a faith leader, get ideas and input, try something new and continue learning, feeling and moving into these issues thoughtfully and safely.

This program will use the CPE model of action, reflection, and adjustment, but previous CPE experience is not required.

Check Your Blind Spots, Perspective Matters. The Perspective Matters videos give employees the opportunity to see multiple points of views and ways unconscious biases are revealed in everyday life. Offered in standard video, 360 view and virtual reality, employees are given the opportunity to see ethnic biases shown in different ways while viewing these three short scenarios.

Check Your Blind Spots, Face Yourself, Face Reality. Through a series of short, one minute videos, employees have the opportunity to explore different backgrounds, identify common themes, challenge their reactions and examine what may make them uncomfortable and why.

Listening Session Guide. Designed with your leadership in mind, use this guide and leading practices to help develop your organization’s listening sessions and help start the discussion of those often difficult D&I topics.

Real-Talk Dialogue Podcast: Episode 4 - Microaggressions. Looking to help broaded individual perspectives and increase awareness, this episode focuses on microaggressions. Joined by Dr. Kevin Nadal, Tiffany Alvoid and Archana Gilravi, listen in as they dive deeper into what a microaggression is and how, even though often times subtle, over time, microaggressions can lead to performance issues and have serious affects on a persons well-being and health. This podcast and accompanying discussion guide are for you and your employees to listen to and continue the dialogue.

The Poor People's Campaign is advocating that policies from its Jubilee Platform take precedence during the first 50-100 days of the new administration and 117th Congress.

The Platform's 14 policy priorities include:

MuslimARC invites you to take the #SacredPledge and receive MuslimARC tools to #ResistRacism.

The pledge reads, in part:

The pledge includes:

See additional APHA Racism and Health resources here.

Resources for Jewish organizations that are interested in applying a racial-justice lens to their work, both internally and externally, in terms of educational opportunities, policies and practices and more. Learn more.

MuslimARC is committed to providing critical resources to building interfaith and multiracial coalitions to advance racial justice. Resources currently include articles, audiovisual recordings, toolkits, papers, research, khutbahs, reading lists, an anti-racism glossary, a directory of experts, and more. Learn more.

A.C.T. Now to End Racism Initiative of the National Council of Churches urges the NCC, its members and partners to Awaken to the many manifestations of white supremacy and racism especially in the church, to Confront the need for change, and to work to Transform church and society into a reflection of the inclusive and equitable reign of God.