Building Faith and Friendships at JOY Camp
JOY Camp 2026 brought together 61 campers and 27 volunteer counselors for a week of faith, friendship, and outdoor fun at Camp Reynoldswood in Dixon, Ill., June 21-27. Centered on the…
Location: Online Via Zoom
Unsilenced: Our Stories, Our Voices
Thursday, March 24, 2022, 12:00-1:30 PM (CDT)
Representatives from the Northern Illinois Conference and their neighboring Indiana Conference share stories about the impact that racism has had on them.
via Zoom
Speakers: Tim Alexander, Rev. Sandy Harlan, Dr. Betty Hart, & Rev. Dr. Michelle Oberwise Lacock
Find out more from the 2022 Speaker Series
Resources:
- Download the text typed in the Chat from the event.
- Learn more about the work of the NIC Anti-Racism Task Force.
- Learn more about the IN Covenant to Being "IN Against Racism!" - Action Network
- Learn what is coming up next in our 2022 Speaker Series here.
- If you would like to be a part of this conversation, consider joining the NIC Anti-Racism Taskforce Champion Team.
- Participate in the 2022 NIC Rally Against Racism (Resources available)
- Informative video from the IN Conference - Covenant for Anti-Racism: Where Do We Go from Here…Chaos or Community? An Exploration of John Wesley, Methodism and Racism
- Connecting Faith and Justice - Youth Lectionary B Curriculum from UMC Church & Society - The curriculum is designed to help students actively engage the intersection of faith and justice and explore why our faith compels us toward justice. It is available to download today for free.
- Read the panelists books:
- Sandy Harlan The God Nobody Knows: Second Edition.
- Chapters by Michelle Oberwise Lacock in the following books:
- Dr. Betty Hart
- By the Light of the Moon
- Prayers in the Black Tradition - Betty Hart, Richard Bowyer and Charlotte Meade.
- Books refererenced in the discussion
- An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States (REVISIONING HISTORY) by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz
- Race Talk and the Conspiracy of Silence: Understanding and Facilitating Difficult Dialogues on Race by Derald Wing Sue
- The Cross and the Lynching Tree By James H. Cone
- The Politics of Jesus: Rediscovering the True Revolutionary Nature of Jesus' Teachings and How They Have Been Corrupted by Obery M. Hendricks Jr.
About the Speakers:
Tim Alexander
Tim Alexander
Tim Alexander is a lifelong Methodist. He has served as the Director of Discipleship since March 2020. After over 40 years in various leadership roles in the business world, he is “retired” and spending his retirement working for OSUMC to make Disciplines for Jesus Christ. His favorite Bible Verses are found in Luke 10: 25-28. Tim is a member of various groups and committees for the Northern Illinois Conference Anti-Racism Team and is serving as the Co-Chairman of the 2022 NIC Anti-Racism Speakers Committee. Tim has a BS in Economics and History from Washington University and an MBA from Lake Forest GSB. He and his wife Pam have been married for over 40 years and have three sons, three great daughters-in-law and four grandchildren.
Sandy Harlan
Rev. Sandy Harlan
Rev. Sandy Harlan is a retired deacon in the United Methodist Church. Prior to retirement, she served as Associate Director for Clergy Services in the Indiana Conference. In her book, The God Nobody Knows -2nd Edition, Harlan reveals the autobiographical flavor of her story, expressing how modern Christianity in America affects her heart, particularly the hypocrisy and infighting she has observed with today’s churches, and how these difficulties restrict Christian’s knowledge of who God truly is.
Dr. Betty Hart
Dr. Betty Hart
Dr. Betty Hart taught ethnic literature and cultural studies at secondary and university levels for over forty-two years before retiring and dedicating her time to serving God through the Indiana Conference of the UMC. Currently she leads the Conference Commission on Race and Ethnicity. Her recently published book, By the Light of the Moon: A Spiritual Memoir (2021), is about growing up as a Black Appalachian in West Virginia during the volatile Civil Rights era. She also co-authored Prayers in the Black Tradition (1986) with Richard Bowyer and Charlotte Meade.
Rev. Dr. Michelle Oberwise-Lacock
Rev. Dr. Michelle Oberwise Lacock
Rev. Dr. Michelle Oberwise Lacock, D.Min, MDiv, MBA is a Certified Educator with the Association for Clinical Pastoral Education and is an Associate Certified Coach with the International Federation of Coaching. She is a retired ordained Elder in the Northern Illinois Conference of the United Methodist Church (UMC). During her thirty plus years with the church she has served both in local United Methodist congregations and as a CPE Certified Educator. She is an active member of the Northern Illinois Conference of The United Methodist Church where she chairs the Conference Committee on Native American Ministries, is a member of the Jurisdictional Committee on Native American Ministries and the Chair of the Advisory Board of the Jurisdictional Native American Course of Study School and faculty member for the school. She also served on the Board of Directors for the American Indian Center of Chicago as Sargent-of-Arms, then Vice-President and then President. She co-authored a chapter, entitled, “Seeing through American Indian Eyes: A Vision of Balance and Equity” with Carol Lakota Eastin, in the book entitled, Women with 2020 Vision: American Theologians on the Voice, Vote and Vision of Women published in 2020. She also co-authored a chapter, entitled, “Breaking the Silence, Naming the Pain and Reclaiming Our Voice: Pastoral Care with American Indian Women” with Rev. Carol Lakota Eastin which was published in the fall of 2009, in the book entitled, Women Out of Order: Risking Change and Creating Care in a Multicultural World.