Lent is a season when many people take on a new spiritual discipline. When it begins this year on Wednesday, February 22, Join the Movement Toward Racial Justice is inviting people to take up the spiritual practice of courageous conversations.

Each day during Lent, Join the Movement will offer daily prompts that encourage antiracist conversations. These will include a reflection question, a prayer and a reference to a time when Jesus engaged in courageous conversations. Examples of prompts include “When did you discover your race?” and “What about your racial/cultural/ethnic background brings you joy?”

“The invitation is to use those prompts to have courageous conversations with friends, family, people who you are in community with, or even just to journal and have this conversation with yourself,” said Sharon Fennema, JTM curator. “Part of what inspired the theme is noticing how many courageous conversations Jesus has over the course of the Gospels, and he seems to lean into that space. What does it look like to build the skills to be in the spaces Jesus was in and the values that were at the heart of his ministry when he was being challenged?”

Courageous conversations show up within many elements of JTM’s work toward antiracism. The theme also follows in the format of the Abolition Advent Calendar that JTM led in December by offering practical antiracist strategies for folks.

People are invited to follow along through the United Church of Christ’s social media channels. JTM will also make a discussion guide available with suggestions for using these resources in groups during Lent, which will include covenants participants can agree to practice to create space for generative dialogue.