By Abraham Joven
Tucked in in the idyllic Los Angeles neighborhood of Rancho Palos Verdes, a group of approximately 50 people across various Christian denominations, including six from the Diocese of San Bernardino, came together to partake in an anti-racism workshop April 24-28.
The workshop was offered by Healing Hearts Transforming Nations, an organization founded by Welsh physician and psychiatrist Dr. Rhiannon Lloyd, who was inspired by her work attempting to forge pathways of reconciliation out of the Rwandan genocide.
At its core, Healing Hearts Transforming Nations serves as a deeply immersive workshop experience, at times feeling like a retreat. Centered on scripture – Dr. Lloyd is a Christian – the days all began with prayer. Each day featured a series of talks and exercises meant to prepare participants for Dr. Lloyd’s theory: that reconciliation starts with an internal healing, and it can only happen when one is willing to encounter over and over the anger and hurt stemming from trauma, and to respond with compassion, kindness and a willingness to apologize if from an offending group.
While the workshop and work are explicitly framed to address systemic racism and other forms of discrimination, what sets it apart from other programs is its insistence that people leading the work – organizers, faith and community leaders – necessarily must go through a form of healing of their own, because bridging gaps and navigating pathways towards reconciliation requires owning up to one’s shortcomings and the ability to apologize with full accountability and sincerity. When it comes to the big divides within society today, those apologies may have to be repeated over long periods of time, Dr. Lloyd asserts.
Rather than being guided by the politics of the current dialogue on race, the workshop was a week of intentionally preparing the people who believe in a future filled with justice and love, as God intends, by reminding them of their own need of conversion, humility and healing.
“The retreat was very powerful and well presented,” said participant Donia Brooks, a parishioner of The Holy Name of Jesus, Redlands. “The reconciliation, scripture and psychological based workshop focused on historical pain and trauma that is driving communities apart and provided for conversations of God’s amazing power to heal, forgive and reconcile communities.”
Even those retreatants who brought previous experience in anti-racism programs felt a strong impact and shared how vital and important the message was.
“The Healing Hearts Transforming Nations Immersion Workshop was a powerful opportunity for deep soul searching and pathways for healing in various aspects of my life,” said Michael Donaldson, Senior Director for the Office of Life, Justice and Peace for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. “I thoroughly enjoyed spending this time with other brothers and sisters from other denominations. The sense of community formed from the workshop provided me a glimpse the possible.”
Ifyeinwa Ezeoke of Sacred Heart Parish, Rancho Cucamonga, added, “[It] was an uncommon experience of the feelings and experiences of people from diverse cultures. An exposition to our disregard to the commandments of God, thereby allowing prejudice to take control and damage our lives, even as followers of Christ we have not lived out the principles of the Gospel we proclaim. On a personal basis it was a slow, restorative, progressive and healing journey from my past to the present. “
The retreat came at a time of deep divisions across the America and poised in the calendar between the 30th Anniversary of the Los Angeles riots following the verdicts in the Rodney King trial and the two year anniversary of George Floyd’s killing, which touched off a renewed set of calls for racial justice in 2020.
Greg Walgenbach, Director of Life, Justice & Peace and Missions for the Diocese of Orange, said, “As one who has done work in this area for some years, [the retreat] was an opportunity for further repentance and conviction of how easy it is for me as a white man to focus on these issues when and where I choose and, therefore, the need for focused and sustained personal attention and commitment. I was especially heartened by the relationships made and time spent together between folks from different Christian and different racial and ethnic communities in a way that did not shy away from but rather entered into the most difficult injustices, pain, and divisions in our society and in ourselves.”
Upon returning, the leaders from the Southern California dioceses reconvened and reiterated a commitment towards making real the hopes of this workshop by spreading opportunities for encounter, empathy, real healing and transformation.
“I strongly believe our community will be transformed. Only Jesus Christ can mend our brokenness, heal our wounded hearts, and give us that peace which the world cannot give, if we can walk up to that place where we can nail it to the cross,” Ezeoke noted.
Abraham Joven is the Director of the Office of Advocacy.