Past Reckoning Episcopal and Moravian presenters and panelists.

The Moravian-Episcopal Coordinating Committee has created a free Adult Education resource, Past Reckoning: Exploring the Racial History of the Moravian and Episcopal Churches. This 3-part video-based program is based on a webinar series, Past Reckoning, which was aired during the season of Epiphany, 2023. The series was created by the Racial Reconciliation Working Group of the Moravian-Episcopal Coordinating Committee. The 90-minute webinars have been reduced to roughly 40-minute segments to be used in an adult education context in individual Moravian and Episcopal congregations or in a joint study.

The three videos are:

• “Evangelizing Enslaved People: Good News or Control?”
• “The Silent Protest Parade: Responses to Racial Violence and Black Leadership in the Church”
• “The Church and the City: Integration, Segregation, and White Flight”

The sessions explore topics in different historical periods (Precolonial to the Civil War; Reconstruction to Jim Crow, and Civil Rights to Today), and seek to connect the history of our Churches to our present. The videos include a presentation on the topic and discussion with panelists (in the last two videos).

The Past Reckoning Study Guide includes:

• suggested opening and closing prayers,
• links to the videos and the password for accessing the videos,
• questions for discussion, including a “deeper dive” section of questions for longer sessions or continued study,
• short bios for the presenters and panelists in the videos,
• references and bibliography for further study, including links to racial justice ministries,
• information on the Moravian-Episcopal Coordinating Committee.

Past Reckoning can be accessed through the Ecumenical and Interreligious Relations website or by downloading the Study Guide here. Please note that the videos are password protected. The link to the films and the password to play the videos are on Page 2 of the Study Guide.

For those interested in learning more about the Past Reckoning webinar series, there is an article by the Rev. Maria Tjeltveit (co-chair of the Moravian-Episcopal Coordinating Committee and chair of the Racial Reconciliation Working Group) in the “Engaged History” section of the December 2023 issue of Anglican & Episcopal History. The journal is available in print and online in JSTOR. You may also request a copy of the article by contacting the Historical Society of the Episcopal Church at hsec1910@gmail.com.