You ask some good and large questions. I will answer them in segments, so please watch this website for answers to your second and third questions.
Here is my response to the first question, about my training:

My Anti-Oppression/Anti-Racism/Multi-Culturalism (AR/AO) training began almost immediately upon my arrival in Dallas. One of our long-time activist members gave me the book The Accommodation, by Jim Schutz, which traces the story of Integration in Dallas when the business leaders essentially decided among themselves how to give the appearance of integration in the 1950’s, and did so almost overnight. As a result, there were never riots or uprisings in Dallas in the 1960’s. It was an important story to know in my new city for it explains how integration has been different in Dallas than in many other southern cities. The widespread belief it was ‘a gift’ has slowed real progress in many ways.
My training is very connected with my congregation’s training, and that started as Journey Toward Wholeness in Dallas.

In 1997, the leadership at First Church, Dallas decided to begin the UUA Journey Toward Wholeness program. As the starting point, we arranged for a Jubilee Training which took place in early 1998. Seventy people came to this initial weekend. Sunday, one of the trainers, Rev. Kurt Kuhwald preached.

The Board of Trustees voted unanimously to continue the training and so we met with representatives from the UUA to make arrangements. They proposed three or four sessions with Crossroads, an anti-racism/anti-oppression training organization. We budgeted $30,000 in our 1999 budget, with the UUA also contributing $5,000 to the costs.

The first training retreat, with 24 people in training (including me) took place early in 1999.

While there were some important and useful parts to the training, it quickly became apparent that expectations on all sides were not being met. In our debriefing, we came to an unfortunate and painful break with Crossroads which resulted in reexamination on all parts of what it was we were trying to do. When someone says the UUA knows that AI/AO training is not “one size fits all”, it is said out of understanding the difficult learnings from those early years.

Most importantly, once we understood that good intentions and even good funding won’t be enough if you’re looking for someone else to lead you in the work. We began to own our own Journey Toward Wholeness process at that time.

The group at our church was tenacious and, for the second session of our training, they put together a program with people in the church who were directly involved in AR/AO work in our city. Then we interviewed various trainers, and selected Visions. They came three times over a period of several months in late 1999-2000.

During this period the Board appointed a task force to create an AI/AO/MC statement of intention to be put on our Order of Service and other materials. It was not an easy process as the board was not clear about what their expectations were, and the task force working on the project felt frustrated with the board’s responses to their efforts.

In the end, the statement “. . . committed to racial and cultural diversity” was put on the Order of Service, and remains to this day as a statement of aspiration. And the Journey Toward Wholeness team continued to work to raise awareness.

We have had the good fortune to have the curator of the African-American Museum in our church. He invited members of our congregation to volunteer as docents at the museum, most especially for a special exhibition of African-American history in Dallas. Being made aware of the rich history and thriving African-American business community which had existed in Dallas in the first part of the 20th century, and had been largely destroyed by a freeway that went through the middle of the city, was important ‘training’ for our congregation and for me.

In September 1999 our Music Director did a collaborative program at the African-American museum with Ashley Bryan and Alvin Singleton on their book Sing to the Sun. The program, which included a small ensemble and a children’s chorus was performed at the museum and again at our church. It was an exciting cooperative effort which further involved our members with the African-American community.

In October, 2005, we had our Leadership Gifts Reception at the Museum, further connecting our congregation to the museum and the stories it was telling.

Early in our training, we had also become very involved with Dallas Area Interfaith, a community organizing interfaith group, which broadened our connections with diverse populations in Dallas, and strengthened my connections with African-American and Hispanic Ministers and Priests. We worked on common issues, and went side by side to the Mayor’s office to make our voices heard. This work led the DAI to suggest that I give the invocation at the installation of the first African-American Mayor of Dallas, which I did in 1997.

In 2000 I was invited to the Clinton White House for the “One America” meeting. I was one of four UUs who were there, a reflection of the work the UUA was doing in anti-racism/anti-oppression. It was a heady and exciting meeting of people who were doing the difficult work in their communities.

In recent years our Journey Toward Wholeness team has had a regular series of “movie nights”, showing movies with discussion following, on AI/AO/MC themes. I have not participated in this program, so do not count it as my personal training, but believe it has been very meaningful in the ongoing life of our church.

Our Director of Adult Religious Education brought Thandeka to our church in April, 2004 to talk on her book Learning to be White. It was widely publicized and the audience for her talk was very diverse. I participated in that event and found her book helpful in broadening my understanding of the accommodation necessary to function in ‘white’ society.

In 2007. the Adult Religious Education Department hosted a series of speakers on anti-racism themes. These included: China Galland, Love Cemetery; Michael Phillips, White Metropolis, and John Crestwell, Charge of the Chalice. In October, Morris Dees and trainers from the Southern Poverty Law Center led us in a weekend of training, including special training for our youth.

We were able to send some of our staff members to the UUA workshop led by Jacqueline J. Lewis, author of The Power of Stories: A Guide for Leading Multi-Racial and Multi-Cultural Congregations. They came back enthused about their experience and shared their learnings to our Program Staff.

We have just added a third minister to our ministerial team, the Reverend Xolani Kacela, who is our Minister for Pastoral Care. He is African American and he brings a new dimension to our work. He emphasizes the relational nature of anti-racism work, especially how important it is to listen to one another’s stories. He is a fabulous listener and a good model for our work going forward.

We have stumbled many times over the years. We have had times of intensity and hard work, and then times when we’ve been less active.
I have learned the work is messy. Sometimes I feel stupid. It requires the ability to listen and courage to change. I know I am less afraid of making mistakes now that I know it is part of the work and the journey.

In our UU community of faith there is forgiveness for this messiness as a part of learning, there is growing knowledge and understanding, there is expanding hope and we are seeing the results as our growing congregation collectively continues the journey.