For several years All Souls has been considering what a distinctively Christian call to racial reparations might look like. Well over 90 All Soulsians have participated in Sacred Ground circles since the summer of 2020, but we have been searching for meaningful ways to engage in the work of repair. At one of our parish classes about reparations we were joined by the Rt. Rev. Eugene Sutton, then the Bishop of Maryland and one of the leaders in the movement towards racial reparations in the United States, particularly within the Episcopal Church. Near the close of our conversation Bishop Sutton encouraged and challenged All Souls to take part in this biblical act, to be repairers of the breach. 

Roughly nine months later, the Vestry of All Souls launched the Isaiah Project, an initiative towards racial reparations in the East Bay, supported by a 10% tithe of nearly $400,000 from our recent capital campaign. The path since that decision has been inspiring, difficult, fraught, and hope-filled. Real conversations about race and privilege have surfaced feelings of hurt and marginalization. Forgiveness has been sought and offered. Slowly, but surely, healing and possibility have emerged. Our initial areas of work towards racial repair and healing are: Children and youth empowerment, Housing, Native American land and sovereignty, and Environmental justice. In the fall of 2023 the Isaiah Project team released an interim report that details some of the breaches in the East Bay in these areas. Over the next several years we plan on giving these funds to organizations already engaged in the work reparation and restoration.