 Racism is racial prejudice plus power in our country. Prejudice against people of color has been given power by being embedded in the systems and structures shaping everyday life. For people of color across many generations, racism has caused incalculable harm. Physical, financial, psychological, emotional, and spiritual. At the same time, for many white people, the insidious combination of racial prejudice and power has gone unnoticed or underestimated and frankly ignored, only adding to racism's destructive power. Racism is sinful. Its roots are in the brokenness of humanity. More over racism denies Imago Dei and all people. It is a form of evil and justice and oppression which we as baptized Christians are called to and have made a covenant with God and one another to resist. We must acknowledge that racism remains painful reality within the United Methodist Church. Good work has been done across the years to name and combat racism in the North Texas Conference but in many ways we are still in the early stages of our journey toward racial justice and we have hard work to do. So for the next 18 months, I envision the clergy and laity of the North Texas Conference taking the next step in this important journey toward justice. It will be an intentional step taken with forethought and prayer. It will be a bold step taken in the strong name of Jesus Christ, our Lord. It will be a step we take together. All of us in this room will have an essential part of life and it will be a step that proclaims we refuse to give racial prejudice power any longer. Ultimately, my vision is for our churches to create environments where every person feels value. My vision is for our systems and structures to be embedded not with prejudice but with truth and justice so that every person is treated fairly and is liberated from the sin of racism. My vision is for the North Texas Conference to become a beacon of light that chases away the shadows of racism lurking in our own communities in which we live and work. The details for the next step that will get us from here to there and beyond are still taking shape. And thus far the vision and plan have been shaped in large part by many rich conversations with my clergy colleagues of color in this conference. And this has been critical. So very soon I'll be forming a diverse team to further develop and guide the work moving forward. You'll be hearing from them in the coming months. The next step has also been informed by the faithful work of the General Commissioner on Religion and Race. We'll share with you that that plan will not only, you will know about it before annual conference but will be adopted by the annual conference. I pray to God unanimously that that happens. What I can share today is that the next step will have three facets and I believe those who are being passed out are having passed out to you and will do that in any way. These three facets supporting and leading viral conversations, developing culturally competent leaders and three promoting institutional equity and racial justice within the Church. More information about each of these facets of the developing plan is being handed out in any way. So these are the action steps over the next few weeks, months together. Those of the viral conversations which are listed there and they call us, those conversations call us to engage one another in conversations about racism, cultural diversity and institutional justice in ways that are candid, respectful, holy and transformational. The intercultural competence which we've worked on and backed off at times will be this, the vision of intercultural competence calls us to cultivate leaders with the skills and awareness to make disciples across cultures so that the North Texas Conference will be more diverse and better reflect our mission for you. And last, institutional equity. The vision of institutional equity calls us to build systems, policies and processes in the North Texas Conference that levels the playing field for all of you. I do want to say just another personal word here. There were like several months, and I would even go longer than that. There have been people whom I will not name today who've been significant conversation partners. I did mention Bishop Palmer earlier, but there are a number of people in our own annual conversation. I'll say that they come from many different cultures. And I want to say a special word to young people in my mind. Frankly, they do better at this than we do. And I think we should be grateful to them because, and I'm not calling you children so don't anybody get out of shape here. I'm deeply reminded of that verse from Isaiah, that little child shall lead them. And the voices of the young in terms of racism have taken this conversation at least for me in a very different place than it had ever been. And that would not have been possible with them. And the times I talk about young clergy is that it's the be all end all. Well, nothing's the be all end all except for the Christ himself. But I will say the young clergy both anglo and after a minute have been more helpful than they know in the ongoing conversation. I'm grateful for their own collegiality with each other and their patience with so many of us.