 Bishop of North Texas Conference, my name is Edlin Cowley. I'm the chair of the Journey to Art Racial Justice team. Happy to be here with Reverend Sylvia Wang, vice chair of our team. We're excited to share with you the work of the Journey to Art Racial Justice team since annual conference last year. It has been a very fruitful year and we are grateful for God leading all of us in the work of racial justice here together in our conference. Last year, we introduced the theme of building bridges as a part of our work in the Journey to Art Racial Justice. We would like to share with you the five bridges that have been made so far while other bridges are still under construction. The first bridge that has been made is the Congregational Journey to Art Racial Justice. This falls primarily under our strategy of vital conversations. This was written and designed by a diverse team from the North Texas Conference and has been successfully launching 11 pilot congregations in each of our four districts. The CJTRJ is a local church and individual journey. This is an in-depth reflective work of congregations that begins with looking at the racial history of local contexts and communities in our conference. Through prayerful discernment and engagement in conversations, congregations decide on their plan for transformational work. As each congregation is unique in its history, setting, and context, how a congregation decides to make their journey to our racial justice is a special and unique journey with their own plan of learning, action, and advocacy to dismantle racism and work toward racial equity and justice. After the annual conference, all churches are invited to participate in the Congregational Journey to Art Racial Justice. If your church is interested in this journey, please feel free to contact me or Reverend Andy Lewis for more information. When I first came to town, it was four years ago, I was concerned to find out that we actually have two ministerial organizations. There's the TMA and the TMU, and they're clearly divided. One's more for the white churches and one's more for the black churches. They're divided literally with a railroad track of all things. The other side of the tracks is where a lot of the other churches are, the black churches. For months, I would come here on Friday nights to help out and I would drive. And the first time I actually walked from the church, which is only seven blocks away, there was something transformational happening in my heart to walk literally in the same pathways. And sometimes the sidewalks are torn up or non-existent. The same pathways that many of the people here who have no car have no choice but to use their feet. I was walking with them at that moment. When I crossed the railroad tracks, there was just something that changed me and realized that we truly are neighbors. The key is to create an opportunity where it's not just about this little diversity group that's getting together to talk about loving Jesus and loving neighbors and going across the tracks. We've got to make that more of a church-wide emphasis. We've got to make it where we're having those conversations not to force it on people, but to allow people to experience this. I think we're in the early stages, but I think it's early enough to see that there is resistance. There is hesitancy about talking about race and there's fear. And what we need to do is create safe spaces and opportunities where people can have conversations about race without being afraid of being called a racist or accused of racism, but just to have real honest conversations about the subject of race and this journey can go forward then. My hope is that the journey will not just be at ending point somewhat, where my hope is the journey will be an ongoing journey beyond just this pilot phase that we have. And my hope is that the conversations will continue. One thing I definitely would love to see is people from both sides of the tracks coming together, not at big huge rallies or big speeches, but in those small conversations that we can have. The second bridge made in the journey to a racial justice is the process of ethnic local church itineration, which falls under our vital conversations and institutional equity strategies. Ethnic fellowships, congregations and churches are invited to share with the journey to a racial justice team about their visions of racial justice and what steps will help and bring about racial justice and equity. Our team has formed sub teams and we'll be conferencing with congregations by ethnicity that include African and or African-American, Latinx, Hispanic, Asian-American, Pacific Islander and Native American congregations. With a feedback from this itineration process, the journey to a racial justice team will create and develop strategies for racial justice for ethnic local churches. The third bridge made in the journey to a racial justice is the promise for ministry leadership scholars program, which is part of our commitment toward institutional equity. We are grateful for the Texas Methodist Foundation for a new partnership with the North Texas Conference in creating the promise for ministry scholars program that will launch in August. This program is designed to enhance the skills of our younger and newer ethnic clergy through a series of classes and experiences curated by TMF and taught by some of their leading teachers and experts. The vision for this program is for it to become an annual experience. I hope that I can gain more experience and more knowledge that I can apply in my ministry context. And I have been receiving already from Perkins School of Theology through my master in divinity, but I will be hearing from experts which is at different, at expertise from people who have had experience in ministry which is different from Perkins School. I don't know how to do capital campaigns or stuff like that. And being in a context, Hispanic, Latino context, we usually in our churches have a lot of financial struggle. So I hope that I can gain more knowledge and help the executive board here in our church to move forward of how to look for more resources and help even more the financial struggle that our church has. But not only that, also as chair, that knowledge that I have been receiving that I will receive with all their clergy, Hispanic clergy that I have met. Just amazing how God is moving through the conference, fighting racial injustices, especially around clergy. As a clergy, Latina, Hispanic and women, it's just an answer prayer from my part to see how the conference and the cabinet especially is focusing their resources to support us. Many times we have felt that we have not been heard and this is just an answer prayer that they are hearing us and are hearing what we need and to support in our journey in the call that God has called us to be. The fourth bridge that is made is the Virtual National Cross-Racial Cross-Cultural Training Event under our strategy on intercultural competency beginning in 2022, the Journey to a Racial Justice Team, along with the Centers for Leadership Development and Church Development will become the lead partners with a Cross-Racial Cross-Cultural Ministry Spring Training Event. This event has been curated, offered and hosted by Reverend Edlin Cowley since 2018. This training event has grown larger each year and hosted over 125 people, including bishops, district superintendents, clergy, lay leaders and laity in 2020 and 2021. This training will be offered to our North Texas Conference clergy serving in Cross-Racial Cross-Cultural Appointments at no cost and will continue to position the North Texas Conference as a leading nationwide resource in preparing clergy for this unique ministry opportunity. 50% of the income from the training event will be donated to the Journey to a Racial Justice and designated for the Promise for Ministry Leadership Scholars Program. The fifth bridge is made is the G-Core, Racial Equity Inclusion Audit of the North Texas Conference. Beginning this spring, the North Texas Conference has started a series of audits focused on racial equality and inclusion in partnership with the General Commission on Religion and Race. This audit will help chart the course for the next phase of our Journey to a Racial Justice work by highlighting the gaps in equity and inclusion that most need to be addressed. The first step of the audit involved the demographics and representation in the conference. G-Core representatives have facilitated conversations with groups of clergy and laity and the conference reflecting affinities with African and or African-American, Latinx Hispanic, Asian-American, Pacific Islander, East and Northwest districts, extended cabinet members and Journey to a Racial Justice team members. The summary from the audit will be shared on the conference website. Also, Zoom sessions about the Racial Equate Audit Summary led by members of the Journey to a Racial Justice team will be open to all who are interested. We will have these sessions on June 22nd, July 28th and August 26th from 6.30 to 8.00 p.m. More information on registering to attend these sessions will be available soon. The next steps of the audit will cover finances, the clergy credentialing processes and policies and norms in the North Texas Conference. We anticipate the full audit to be completed by early 2022. And looking ahead to what is to come, we know that our work in the Journey to a Racial Justice is not done. Some bridges are in construction while other bridges are to be built. As Reverend Edlin Cowley moves into a new journey of ministry as the district superintendent of the Metro District, I would like to introduce to you our new construction workers. I will serve as the new chair of the Journey to a Racial Justice team. And Reverend Joshua Manning will serve as the new vice chair of the Journey to a Racial Justice team. We are ready to get to work because we are excited to see how God continues to lead us in our Journey to a Racial Justice as we continue to build bridges and to shorten the distance and increase proximity between people groups so that we can more fully represent the body of Christ here on earth and make God's kingdom on earth as it is in heaven. Thank you. Thank you.