The River Compassion and Justice Ministries
At the River Church Community we are a people on mission, and our focus initiatives this year are in the areas of Food and Shelter.
Events
P.A.C.T Beloved Community Team Meeting 3rd Tuesday, 5:45pm Join P.A.C.T. San Jose Beloved Community Team
Weekly Volunteer at Reaching Out Center Food Pantry Thurs, 9am
2nd & 4th Tuesdays Grocery Deliveries to families part of Shalom Iglesia and The River Church signup to receive groceries, or help with deliveries! Tuesdays, 8:30-10 am.
Monthly Grocery Deliveries to families living at Willows Apartments, 4th Wednesday, 6:45 -7:30 pm.
More information about other upcoming events can be found on our flowpage
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Ministry Spotlights
Summer Book Group: Beloved Beloved by Toni Morrison is a Pulitzer Prize Winner, and a complex nuanced book that wrestles with topics of slavery, fetal life, family, history, faith and humanity. It is a fitting book for the moment we are in as a nation, with supreme court decisions and implications to consider. This book group offers space to process the recent roe v wade decision as well as engage this preeminent work of American literature.
1619 RoundTable - Coming this fall Join us for a discussion of the 1619 Project, a journalistic and historial effort that “aims to reframe the country’s history by placing the consequences of slavery and the contributions of black Americans at the very center of our national narrative”, and how the history of black Americans connects us all. The 1619 Project was founded by journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones, along with other journalists of the New York Times and encompasses both written articles as well as a podcast. Our discussion will follow the six-episode podcast and will take place across 10 weeks on Sundays, this fall!
Critical Race Theory Roundtable - Coming this fall Critical Race Theory or CRT, has been talked about with great fervor in politics, faith communities, education, and other interconnected spaces. But what exactly is critical race theory, what ideas are part of CRT, why has CRT become such a contentious topic, and why should it matter to followers of Jesus? Join us in a roundtable conversation to explore these questions, guided by a podcast series featuring Dr. Nathan Cartagena, Professor of Philosophy at Wheaton College. Coming Soon
Middle Talk Middle Talk fulfills the compassion & justice objective to equip the community to engage thoughtfully and gracefully the conversations of our day with theological depth and understanding. Middle talk is a facilitated sharing dialogue for small to medium/large groups of people on one of the following topics: Race & Ethnicity, politics, life in silicon valley, wealth, gender and sexuality, housing. We are currently looking for two facilitators to be able to offer each small group at the River the opportunity to have at least 1 facilitated conversation a year. Talk with Iheoma for more information. Sustainability Cohort A majority of Compassion & Justice initiatives are outward focused, this one is inward focused, helping the River practice creation care and increased ecological sustainability. Members of the cohort will ideate and implement ways that the River Church and its programs can be ecologically sustainable. Talk with Iheoma for more information. |
Resources and Church Collaborations
How to Fight Racism with Jemar Tisby
Reading While Black | A Public Conversation with Dr. Esau McCaulley
The River Church Community Disaster Response Website & Resources
Anti-Racism & The Church Webinars | Moving towards True Repentance | Dismantling Systemic Racism
The Color of Compromise with Jemar Tisby
Austin Channing Brown "I'm Still Here"
Oriented to Love Fishbowl Dialogue on Sexual/Gender Diversity in the Church
Compassion & Justice Call to Action
Stay tuned for our next call to action