THE ARC
"We shall overcome because the ARC of the moral universe is long but it bends toward justice." - Martin Luther King, Jr.
Indigenous Justice
The Doctrine of Discovery is a system of laws and policies that began with 15th-century religious and legal principle that continues to justify the exploitation of Indigenous lands, resources, and peoples to this day. The Doctrine of Discovery shapes the very reality we experience — whether we are Indigenous, a person of color, or settler-descended — and it has shaped the programs, policies, and institutional structures of our church.
At our 2026 Diocesan Convention, we repudiated the Doctrine of Discovery, committed to understanding our role in perpetuating it — especially through Indigenous residential boarding schools — and committed to begin a process of repair with our Indigenous siblings.
To help us understand the meaning and responsibility of these commitments, ARC is launching a series of educational webinars and workshops. The first webinar — From Doctrine to Dignity: Moving Toward Right Relationship with Indigenous Peoples through Truth-telling and Repair — will introduce the foundations of the Doctrine and explore its ongoing impact in our church and communities. It will be led by Sarah Augustine and The Rev. Joe Hubbard of the Coalition to Dismantle the Doctrine of Discovery. Learn more.
Topics will include:
The origins of the Doctrine of Discovery
How the Doctrine shaped U.S. law, policy, and systems
Historical and present‑day impacts within the Episcopal Church
The Gospel imperative calling us to dismantle the Doctrine today
All are invited to learn, reflect, and take part in this important work of truth‑telling and repair.
Questions about this event can be directed to Cn. Rev. Toneh Smyth at tsmyth@diopa.org.
Registered attendees will receive a Zoom link closer to the event date.
Get to Know the Anti-Racism Commission
Watch The Diocesan Anti-Racism Commission: A Resource for Racial Justice and Repair (5 mins)
Featuring: ARC Co-Chairs The Rev. Barbara Ballenger and The Rev. Ernie Galaz, Commission Member The Rev. Andrea Gardner, and Friend of ARC James Massey
We Need Racial Justice and Repair Now More than Ever
As we enter more deeply into this church season after the Epiphany, the glorious white vestments of Jesus’ birth and Epiphany and Baptism are put away, and we enter into the day-to-day work of what is sometimes called ordinary time, a flash of green on these snowy winter weeks.
The Scriptures that greet us on Sundays now remind us again and again what true discipleship asks of us, what the baptismal covenant that we recited at the Baptism of the Lord currently requires of us. The Feast of Absalom Jones, which the church celebrates on 2/13, reminds us of the power of such discipleship in our own city and in the world.
In these not-so-ordinary times, the courageous action that is empowered by our Baptismal covenant is needed now more than ever.
Now more than ever racial justice and repair is essential to the work, especially as it intersects with the safety of LGBTQIA people, of women, of immigrants and people without documents, of people marginalized by poverty, illness and social abuses, and of the earth as it undergoes ever expanding climate catastrophe. The Gospel calls us to stand with those among us who are hit first and worst by threats to their human dignity now more than ever.
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