Born and raised a native of the twin-island nation of Trinidad & Tobago (West Indies), Ele Clay fully embraces the multicultural upbringing that formed her understanding of community. Teachers and political leaders whose ethnic heritage spanned the globe were her childhood hall of fame. As a naturalized citizen of the United States since April 1, 1994, Ele adds to this awareness the struggle that it is to resist the labeling and silencing that cultures can impose, often without recognizing its effects. While her foremost point of reference for “home” is Trinidad, she thinks it is “quite what it should be” that the circle of her life in the United States should have begun with college education at Luther College in Decorah, Iowa; and emerge over time as a rostered minister in the ELCA(1) by way of Luther Seminary in St Paul, Minnesota. Between the speech and theatre emphasis of her bachelor’s degree and the master of divinity degree, a Master of Arts and a Master of Science degree in communication studies sharpened her awareness for the concerns of people and groups across cultures and other ways of being.
Of those, two ways have always encircled Pastor Ele—that of the cultural ground zero of her childhood years, and the ecumenical blessing of her faith life, formal education and professional career. She has worked locally and nationally in ministries focused on community service and sharing the biblical story of grace. She has helped to generate funding for domestic and international missions programs and has been given the opportunity to travel across the United States and to several countries for related purposes. Finding herself to be the first “woman” or “West Indian” or “African descent” in various situations over the years have challenged and intrigued her. But her own public silence on these matters finally ended when seminary colleagues urged her to express her experiences in some form of anti-racism work. A seminary independent study supervised by Dr. Mary Hess, co-author of the recent book, Becoming a White Antiracist inspired her to stay open to opportunities to “say more.”
In 2016, longtime friend Erin Anderson McCracken joined Ele in conversations about a ministry that might expand efforts for grassroots anti-racism awareness and change for the better, particularly within the ELCA(2). In 2020, global protests over the murder of George Floyd opened up a unique opportunity for reflection. With pastor colleague Austin Nickel, Erin and others, a six-week engagement called WorkSpace: Racism and US(3) struck a chord. Its accessibility to the “ordinary person” has stirred interest for more of the same or like kind. Spurred on by the words of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. that “The time is always ripe to do the right thing”(4), Ele has drawn together a diverse group now stepping toward the launch of a ministry through which WorkSpace: Racism and US (and other programs currently in development) may be offered as and where needed.
The Color of Grace team echoes the poetic voice of James Baldwin, found in a post by Cole Arthur Riley(5)— another dynamic new author of 2022. Baldwin said, “Love takes off the masks that we fear we cannot live without and know we cannot live within.” Adding a firm Amen to that Ele continues, “We stride forward into the freedom of vulnerable harmony—the essence of the life, death, and resurrection of our God of love in Jesus Christ.”
(1) Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
(2) Pew Reports and its own self-reporting identify the ELCA as the whitest denomination in the United States. https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2015/07/27/the-most-and-least-racially-diverse-u-s-religious-groups/ National leaders have been calling for and persistently urging intentional authentic change toward acknowledging and encouraging participation of diverse groups in local and national expressions of the Church.
(3) The first WorkSpace: Racism and US was led by Cynae Punch Brown, director, Center for the Professional Development of Teachers, University of Houston Downtown.
(4) A quote from Dr Martin Luther King Jr’s “Letter from a Birmingham Jail”, page 92 in I Have a Dream: Writing and Speeches that changed the World, © 1986, HarperCollins, New York.
(5) Cole Arthur Riley is the creator of the Instagram blog, @Black Liturgies. Her first book, This Here Flesh was released on February 22, 2022, and quickly became a New York Times bestseller. Published by Convergent Books, a Random House imprint.
