even though I have a black brother who I love dearly,
even though I say I am committed to racial equality
and justice, even though my family told me to love
everyone regardless of race. I have centuries of in-
grained white supremacy born into me. I was raised in
a society that was built on the backs of enslaved people
of color and live in a country that continues to privi-
lege white people.
The anti-racism weekend was transformational for
me. It highlighted how entrenched white supremacy
is and now I cannot unsee it. The most challenging
part is that now I see racism play out in me. I catch
myself stereotyping, preferring white people and
white practices, making myself the center in spaces
of color, and poking holes in stories of discrimina-
tion and racism. One particularly poignant moment
of recognizing my own racism was when a person of
color in the anti-racism training called me out for my
racist behavior during the training itself. It is pain-
ful and embarrassing to admit it, but I know it is the
truth. I hope that acknowledging my faults can clear
the way for other white people to start noticing their
own. Nothing is going to change until white people
recognize that we are part of the problem, that we are
perpetuating the system of white supremacy, whether
consciously or unconsciously. But we cannot stop at
recognizing that racism works through us, we also
must begin to change.
Every time I recognize a way in which I am perpet-
uating white supremacy, I try to change my behavior
and truly stand up for communities of color. I repeat-
edly question my actions in all my work at pbmr, since
I am in a position of power over women of color. I am
trying to rework the system so that the young women
can be in charge. I am continuously investigating how
I as a white woman can play a role without recreating
unjust structures. I am educating myself on both the
oppression and strengths of different communities
of color, as I know that each community—and each
individual for that matter—has a unique experience of
discrimination. I am constantly trying to learn how to
be more aware and understanding.
I know talking about race is hard. Believe me,
writing this article was really hard, and scary. And we
are going to falter and err sometimes. But that’s okay,
because mistakes are part of the learning process. The
only real mistake is if we do not try at all.
Village, continued from page 5
presentation from the New Creation Commission
a central part of their assembly. In that same spirit,
members of each council were encouraged to attend
both assemblies to offer support for the new creation
as well as to model what building the bridge between
communities looks like.
As we are just beginning to define what the future
new creation looks like for the Cincinnati and Kansas
City Provinces, there may be one more phrase that
needs to be added to the proverb that we began with:
“It takes a village, the Holy Spirit, and everyone in our
community to raise a new creation.” At the conclu-
sion of our time together, it was evident that the work
of just a few people on the Commission or on our
Provincial Councils will not bring the new creation
to life. Everyone who is part of the community and
who agrees that we need to continue to respond to the
cry of the blood for the renewal and reconciliation of
the world needs to bring their hopes and dreams for
our community to the circle and make the commit-
ment to the new creation. The hope of everyone on the
New Creation Commission as well as both Provincial
Councils is that each of us can prayerfully commit
to becoming part of the village that brings our new
creation to life.
Leadership, continued from page 3
resources, or the naming of the new headquarters
and where it ought to be located. These are questions
that will need to be answered at some point, but none
of this involves us on a daily basis. What involves us
is the type of expression to which we feel called by
implementing this new understanding and expression
of our mission. How do we wish to describe this new
mission and how are we willing to incorporate that
description within our own Precious Blood dna? Our
Companions have a perspective on the nature of the
church and where our Catholics are spending their
time, so we ought to be listening to them as to how we
can impact our society with the Precious Blood mes-
sage and mission. Also, how is community life to be
lived in our world of today? What is the relationship
between our contemplative hearts and our apostolic
feet in sharing the message of our mission?
May the Easter breath of the Spirit give us the cour-
age to break out of our comfortable positions as we are
invited to enter this new creation.
May 2018 • The New Wine Press • 7