While the Maryland legislature overturned a veto to establish a an all-volunteer commission and
approximately $54,000 for a reparations study in 2025, The Presbytery of Baltimore is planning to disburse reparatory resources in two equal installments in 2026 and 2027.

In 2025, the church took an historic turn by approving the establishment of a Reparative Justice Fund. The action, believed to be the first of its kind by an administrative body in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), will provide direct support to African American congregations and communities within the Presbytery’s bounds, with a focus on empowerment, self-determination, and healing.

Six historically Black congregations: Cherry Hill Community, Grace, Knox, Lochearn, Madison Avenue, and Trinity Presbyterian Churches will receive initial priority in recognition of their historic underfunding and exclusion.  The church will direct at least one-quarter of the Fund’s resources toward these congregations, while additional disbursements will support community-based initiatives rooted in equity and justice.

To seed the Fund, the Presbytery is committing 15 percent of its unrestricted net assets, in addition to 15 percent of designated mission and urban ministry funds. The Presbytery will disburse those funds in the two equal installments in 2026 and 2027.

Moving forward, the Presbytery’s Manual will be amended so that 10 percent of net proceeds from all property sales will flow into the Fund, providing a sustainable and long-term source of support. The Reparative Actions Fund Reserve, created several years ago from the legacy of The Center, will also be incorporated into this effort, unifying the Presbytery’s commitments under one banner of repair.

The Reparative Justice Fund also builds on actions of the broader denomination. In 2022, the 225th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) adopted an overture titled “An Apology to African Americans for the Sin of Slavery and Its Legacy,” which called on presbyteries to examine their complicity in slavery and systemic racism and to take tangible steps toward repair.