Storyboard: Faith Witness Transformation is a podcast highlighting ministries across the East Ohio Conference of The United Methodist Church that are transforming lives locally, nationally, and globally. Produced twice-a-month by EOC Communications, each podcast episode focuses on one of the core values of the #BeUMC campaign: Disciple Making; Belonging & Inclusion; Influence, Connection & Impact; and Experience of God through The United Methodist Church.

Episode 75 “Belonging & Inclusion: Embodying Black History Beyond February” is a conversation with Rev. Leo Cunningham of Toledo St. Paul’s UMC, Pastor Tennille Power of North Olmsted and Rockport UMCs, and Multicultural Ministries Director Will Fenton-Jones.

“This year I was thinking how do we slow down and ask, ‘How does Black History Month become more than just remembering the past but something that shapes who we are right now?’” Fenton-Jones shared.

“You start by acknowledging it (Black history) and bringing it to the forefront, by becoming a fabric of worship and liturgy for the year. That’s where it begins,” Power offered.

Cunningham said, “For me the Black Church has always been that we see the world for what it is, but we also see the world for what it could be, and we have hope that because of God, it’s going to get better.”

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