Critical Race Theory: How it Affects Me and Why it Matters.

A Conversation with three educators

Tuesday, November 9, 2021 from 7:00 to 8:30 p.m.

St. John’s Episcopal Church at 3857 N. Kostner Ave. Chicago, IL  60641 and on-line

Chicago Episcopal churches sponsor an event to educate members and the community to gain a general understanding of Critical Race Theory, explore why is it important to know about CRT, and how CRT affects our daily lives, especially in Chicago. Three educators will speak from their expertise and experience, with moderated questions from the audience. The featured speakers are Dr. Blanche Cook, JD, Associate Professor at the University of Kentucky Rosenberg College of Law; Dr. Kyle P. Westbrook, Executive Director of Partnership for College Completion; and Ms. Heather Yutzy, Principal of Haugen Elementary in Chicago.

About Dr. Blanche B. Cook
Dr. Cook is an Associate Professor at the University of Kentucky Rosenberg College of Law. She teaches Criminal Law, Criminal Procedure, Evidence, Race and the Law, Critical Race Theory, Critical Race Feminism, and a seminar on Sex Trafficking. She earned her bachelor of arts degree from Vassar College and her law degree at the University of Michigan. Before joining the Rosenberg College of Law, she served as an Assistant United States Attorney with the United States Department of Justice, where she specialized in large-scale drug and sex-trafficking prosecutions. Professor Cook has established herself as a leading expert on sex trafficking by problematizing the entire spectrum of sex-trafficking prosecutions and the commercialization and exploitation of vulnerable flesh. She is actively involved in shaping the emerging nationwide discourse on sex trafficking.

About Dr. Kyle P. Westbrook  
Dr. Westbrook is the founding executive director of Partnership for College Completion, a nonprofit that champions policies and practices focused on equity in higher education. Previously he was the Executive Director of Educational Policy under Mayor Rahm Emanuel, the Executive Director of Magnet, Gifted, and IB Programs for Chicago Public Schools, Director of Secondary School Support for the University of Chicago, and a high school teacher for twelve years in Chicago. Dr. Westbrook received his Bachelor of Science and masters of science in Education from Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, and his Ph. D in Educational Policy Studies at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

About Ms. Heather Yutzy
Heather Yutzy is the principal of Haugan Elementary School in Albany Park. Although new at Haugan, she has 20 years of experience as a school principal and assistant principal. She is passionate about helping students and teachers to thrive, both academically and socially. Ms. Yutzy believes that the school and parents are most powerful when we work together as partners. Ms. Yutzy holds a B.A. degree in Elementary Education, and M.A. in Educational Administration and she worked as a teacher in CPS for nine years before becoming an administrator. She has now been an educational leader for 23 years.  She has worked as an instructional coach and consultant, and as an assistant principal and principal at several schools. Heather considers one of her key accomplishments as principal to be when her school twice achieved exemplary honors for social emotional learning.

This program is sponsored by four Chicago Episcopal Churches

All Saints: allsaintschicago.org
Church of the Ascension:
ascensionchicago.org
Church of the Atonement:
atonementchicago.org
St. John’s Episcopal Church: stjohnschicago.com

Author Talk: recording available

Click on this link to hear a recording of the talk which occurred on September 21, 2021.

This Assembly of Believers: Author Talk with the Rev. Bryan Cones
September 21 at St. John’s & online
 
On September 21 at 7 pm, St. John’s, Chicago will host priest and author Bryan Cones for a discussion of his new book, “This Assembly of Believers.” The conversation will take place in person and on Zoom.

Cones’s book is available for purchase here and here.

Please rsvp to the Parish Office to receive the Zoom link.

Keeping Lent

Lord, Lord, Open Unto Me

Open unto me, light for my darkness
Open unto me, courage for my fear
Open unto me, hope for my despair
Open unto me, peace for my turmoil
Open unto me, joy for my sorrow
Open unto me, strength for my weakness
Open unto me, wisdom for my confusion
Open unto me, forgiveness for my sins
Open unto me, tenderness for my toughness
Open unto me, love for my hates
Open unto me, Thy Self for myself
Lord, Lord, open unto me!

– Howard Thurman, from “Meditations of the Heart”

Howard Thurman

Weekly Lenten Evening Prayer

Wednesdays from 7:00 to 7:15 p.m. via Zoom (Meeting ID: 810 6510 8127 Passcode: 3857)

Free Lenten Resources for Download

St. John’s favorite: Lent Madness Don’t miss this year’s Saintly Smackdown! Here is a link to your 2021 bracket! You can also get the scorecard on your favorite e-reader, tablet, or phone.

Come, Pray – the Prayer I Need This Day from the Society of Saint John the Evangelist


Episcopal Relief & Development 2021 Lenten Meditations, which focus on lament

Lent, Holy Week and Easter Activity Pack for Children and Families from Church Publishing


Life Transformed: The Way of Love in Lent from The Episcopal Church


Living Well Through Lent 2021 from Living Compass, “Listening With All Your Heart, Soul, Strength and Mind.”

Ash Wednesday

preparations and distribution

Youth group members lighting the palms on fire
making ashes!
putting ashes in bags for parishioners to pick up
physically distant youth group conversation
Thanks to our neighbors Deacon Jason and Brother Alberto for providing ashes in the morning.

Antiracism Book Group

First Meeting is Thursday, January 7, 2021

Me and White Supremacy by Layla F. Saad

Kick off 2021 with the #MeAndWhiteSupremacy 28 day challenge. Join St. John’s antiracism reading group this January for a month of journaling and weekly discussions. We will use Layla F. Saad’s book Me and White Supremacy to go through a step-by-step process to develop a better understanding of our white privilege and participation in white supremacy, so we can stop (often unconsciously) inflicting damage on Black, Indigenous and People of Color, and in turn, help other white people do better, too. It’s not to late to start reading and journaling. Join in weekly Zoom discussions: Link to cut and paste: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83419218446?pwd=WGdiWHBiYUxWc0wvUXNuUWpjL3NTdz09 (Meeting ID: 834 1921 8446 Passcode: 3857) each Thursday in January at 7:30 p.m. For more information or to RSVP email to Laura.t.singer@gmail.com. You can also  RSVP on Facebook.

Latinx Book Group

This group met from September 2019 – June 2020 and again in the fall of 2020. Please email the Parish Office if you are interested in joining when the group reconvenes.

So far we have read these books:

An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz

My Beloved World by Sonia Sotomajor
I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter by Erika L. Sánchez
Native Country of the Heart by Cherríe Moraga
Her Body and Other Parties by Carmen Maria Machado
The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros
Wise Latinas: Writers on Higher Education edited by Jennifer De Leon
When I was Puerto Rican by Esmeralda Santiago