Spiritual Formation & White Racial Identity Development

The Allender Center Podcast

The Allender Center

Psychology, Religion & Spirituality, Mental Health, Christianity, Trauma, Health & Fitness, Theology

4.6 • 628 Ratings

🗓️ 23 August 2024

⏱️ 48 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Spiritual director and story coach, TJ Poon, sits down with Rachael Clinton Chen to explore the intersection of spiritual formation and White racial identity development.

We’ll begin by saying that we are approaching this conversation with a deep sense of responsibility and humility, honoring the voices of people of color who have led the way and are aware that two White people are not experts on racism. This is a complex topic and there will be missteps. Even when the conversations are difficult, we at the Allender Center know that the realities of racism and White supremacy cannot be ignored, and we are committed to holding a space to engage them.

In today’s episode, TJ and Rachael consider how White-bodied people understand their stories, how their stories and spiritual formation have been influenced by systems of Whiteness, and the challenge of feeling anchored and connected to family histories. They also acknowledge that on this journey of personal and collective healing, White people will inevitably need to confront anxiety, shame, and humiliation in their pursuit of restoration, with a commitment to what TJ calls “joyful anti-racist action.”

We hope you’ll join us in this conversation with curiosity, compassion, and courage, understanding that ongoing dialogue, learning, and formation are vital to our work with trauma on behalf of the kingdom of God.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Thank you for listening to the Allender Center podcast.
0:06.7	I'm Dr. Dan Allender.
0:08.7	And I'm Rachel Clinton-Centen.
0:10.5	We're fiercely committed to providing hope and healing to a fragmented world.
0:14.7	And restoration for the heart.
0:17.2	Thank you for joining us.
0:18.5	Let's get this conversation started.
0:30.2	Thank you for joining us. Let's get this conversation started. Good people with good bodies. As we've engaged the reality of racial trauma here at the
0:35.2	Allender Center, specifically on the Allender Center podcast.
0:38.3	We've heard from many of you who identify as white that it's been really powerful to hear
0:43.6	from leaders of color from our team and those who are guests on our podcast and that it's deeply
0:50.7	shaped your understanding, not only of racial trauma in our context,
0:55.4	but in some ways our place as white people in that story.
1:00.4	We've also heard from some of you that it would be helpful in addition to hear from other
1:06.0	white people who are on this journey of white racial identity development and who are
1:10.7	deeply committed to becoming
1:12.0	anti-racists. So today I'm really grateful to be joined by my friend and colleague T.J. Poon,
1:19.7	a spiritual director, a current member of the Allender Center Facilitation Team, and a longtime
1:24.7	campus ministry leader, among many other things.
1:32.9	She is a wise learner, a humble leader in cross-cultural settings, a gifted story guide,
1:37.5	who is committed to the ever-present lifelong work of anti-racism.
1:42.6	She graduates the spring with her Masters of Spiritual Formation, and one of her areas of focus has been the intersection of spiritual
	...

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