BIJOC Discernment Group
Are you a Black, Indigenous Jew or Jew of Color discerning your call to spiritual / communal leadership?
This group is for you.
Launching September 6, 2020!
The BIJOC Discernment Group
A 1.5 hour monthly peer support group co-facilitated by Kendra Watkins and Kat Macías held on the first Sunday of the month from Noon - 1:30pm ET/ 9-10:30am PT via Zoom.
We have found that the process of finding our intended paths takes time and can sometimes be rather lonely. So we are holding this space to have community along the way. Together we hold space and learn from each other’s process as we hold questions, listen, develop the courage to act, reflect and find our footing and place as leaders. As a BIJOC group we will also hold the much needed space of support as we navigate the racism and colonization that shows up in training programs and mentorships as well as the way these oppressions impact how we lead.
What do you mean by being “called” to leadership?
This isn’t a group for those generally interested in spiritual/communal leadership; rather, it is a group for those who feel called by something greater than themselves to take up leadership. Callings are experienced in unique and deeply personal ways and are often attributed to the workings of the divine experienced through direct communication, promptings of intuition, the season of your life, felt roles in the work of justice, or where you feel needed in your community/ the world. Some of the ways we think of them showing up in ourselves are as a yearning or longing, a deeply felt knowing, a directive or charge, and sometimes as a felt clarity. We imagine people in this group may feel called to explore their leadership in these pathways: clergy, spiritual direction, chaplaincy, spiritual educator, community healer, etc. We envision members of the group may already be in training, considering programs, or exploring alternate routes to leadership.
What would we be doing in these meetings?
This will be an emergent space shaped by and serving those in the group. In our first meeting we will really build our relationships and begin to surface what questions and needs those in the group are holding. Grounded in relationship and adapting to the needs of the group we will hold space for our questions, support each other to listen to the workings of the divine, and share our journeying with each other as we move on our own paths supported by one another.
What does it cost?
We suggest a donation of 18-54 dollars per session to honor our work of facilitators. 10% of what is received will be redistributed as a tithe to Kindred Southern Healing Justice Collective. No one will be turned away for lack of funds. Capitalism is oppressive to us all.
How do I join?
The first group meeting will be September 6th at Noon - 1:30pm ET/ 9-10:30am PT . You can sign up here!
Meet Your Facilitators
Kat Macías
Kat Macías (they/them) is a queer Puerto Rican and Cuban Jew-by-Choice living on Mvskoke land in Columbus, GA. They are exploring their path as a spiritual leader through their role as the JVP Havurah Network’s Spiritual Leadership Apprentice. You can learn more about their work by exploring this site!
Kendra Watkins
Kendra Watkins (they/them) is a Black queer and trans Jew facilitating ritual and political education in Detroit/Waawiiyaatanong with Detroit Jews for Justice, and co-creating community with Jews of Color through Edot Midwest: the Midwest Regional Jewish Diversity Collaborative. Kendra recently returned to Detroit after living in North Carolina, where they studied at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. They are a Midwestern Southerner at heart, with a deep love for building queer, anti-racist Jewish community wherever we may find ourselves.