Outreach

Working for Justice

Incarnation has been actively engaged in justice outreach since our inception. Below are some of our outreach programs and groups focused on issues around justice. If you would like to know more about any of these groups, please send an email to either:

• Pastor Dean Aponte-Safe, pr.dsafe@gmail.com

• Jamie Taylor, admin@incarnationannarbor.org

Criminal Justice Reform

We are involved in a variety of important efforts to reform the legal justice system in Washtenaw County. As our criminal legal system has been one of the major perpetrators of racial and economic discrimination in our society over the last fifty years, these efforts are vital. They include, for example:        

• The Prosecutor’s office program to not file charges against some who have been arrested if there seems a better way to respond to their circumstances.            

• The new county restorative justice program, organized through the Dispute Resolution Center and Friends of Restorative Justice.

• We are also working with several other groups, including:                    

  • The Michigan Youth Justice Center which is the main organization in our state specifically focused on reforming Michigan’s Youth Legal Justice system.

  • Safe and Just Michigan which is perhaps the largest organization focused on reforming our adult legal justice system.

The Nicaragua Project                    

The seed for the Nicaragua Project was planted during a visit to Nicaragua by a delegation Joe Summers led, back in 2004. While this was originally a project of Incarnation, it was spun off as an independently registered charitable organization called Capital to Bridge the Divide. Over the years, members of Incarnation have had a significant presence on the Board of Directors of Capital to Bridge the Divide, but there have been many non-Incarnation members involved as well. Capital to Bridge the Divide supports the project in Nicaragua through monthly donations to cover salaries and benefits for the caretaker and administrator, utilities, government fees, and other ongoing maintenance items. For more information, visit the project website at NicaraguaProject.org.

Creation Care Committee       

The Creation Care Committee (CCC) of the Episcopal Church of the Incarnation seeks to promote awareness and systemic action to address the climate emergency. We recognize that pursuing environmental justice is inseparable from pursuing racial, economic, gender, and social justice. We focus on activism related to water, especially water protection and water affordability for. every community. We strive to make our events intergenerational, educational, inspirational, and fun.