“Our long-term commitment to racial justice and reconciliation is embedded in our identity as baptized followers of Jesus. We will still be doing it when the news cameras are long gone.”
Presiding Episcopal Bishop Michael Curry
The death of George Floyd has brought to light racial inequalities in America. Many of us are asking what next? What can we do? What needs to be done?
In response, The Episcopal Church’s Department of Reconciliation, Justice and Creation Care and the Office of Government Relations have assembled resources for addressing racist violence and police brutality through LEARN, PRAY and ACT.
Upcoming Parish Events
| August 26, 2020 | Book Group Discussion: Between the World and Me, by Ta-Nehisi Coates |
| September 2, 2020 | Sacred Ground: A Film-Based Dialogue Series on Race & Faith |
From Our Parish
- Fr. Eric’s Pastoral Letter: Opening Our Hearts to Prayer, June 3, 2020
Video for Children on Peaceful Protest
Episcopal Public Policy Network
What Can I Do?
- 9 actions you can take today to learn about and address police violence in your communities, June 16, 2020
- Episcopal Litany for Social Justice, June 3, 2020
- The Episcopal Church’s Response to Racist Violence, June 2, 2020
From Presiding Bishop Curry
- Episcopal News Service: Virtual Executive Council meeting opens with passionate plea for justice, plans for possible budget cuts, June 8, 2020
- Presiding Bishop Curry’s Word to the Church: When the Cameras are Gone, We Will Still Be Here, May 30, 2020
- Washington Post: As a black man, I understand the anger in our streets. But we must still choose love. By Michael B. Curry, May 30, 2020
Pentecost Sermon Addressing Racist Violence
Message on the Church’s Work for Racial Healing
Additional Resources
- Union of Black Episcopalians
- Racial Reconciliation (The Episcopal Church, USA)
- Prayers of the People and a Litany of Repentance and Commissioning for the Ministry of Justice and Reconciliation (The Episcopal Church, USA)
Absalom Jones: The Black Bishop of the Episcopal Church
The Episcopal Church was an important catalyst in the evolution of racial justice in the United States. One such example is Absalom Jones, often referred to as the Black Bishop of the Episcopal Church.
Absalom Jones is an example of persistent faith in God and in the Church as God’s instrument. Born a house slave in 1746 in Delaware, he taught himself to read out of the New Testament and attended a night school for Blacks, operated by Quakers. Jones bought his own freedom in 1784 and at St. George’s Methodist Episcopal Church, he served as lay minister for its Black membership. In 1787, Jones helped found the Free African Society in Philadelphia. Jones was an earnest preacher. He denounced slavery, and warned the oppressors to “clean their hands of slaves.”
Our Diocese honors him yearly with a commemoration of his feast day.
“Set us free, heavenly Father, from every bond of prejudice and fear; that, honoring the steadfast courage of your servant Absalom Jones, we may show forth in our lives the reconciling love and true freedom of the children of God, which you have given us in your Son our Savior Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.”
The Collect of the Day: Commemorating Absalom Jones
Suggested Reading
The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander
This critically acclaimed text by Michelle Alexander, a highly acclaimed civil rights lawyer, advocate, and legal scholar, describes the ways in which the U.S. criminal justice system and the War on Drugs work together to exercise a form of racial control that is popularly believed to have ended with the outlawing of the Jim Crow laws.
In Alexander’s new introduction published in January 2020, she writes, “What our country is experiencing today is not an “aberration”…We find ourselves in this dangerous place not because something radically different has occurred in our nation’s politics, but because so much has remained the same.”
Alienated America by Timothy Carney
Washington Examiner editor Timothy Carney traveled Middle America after the 2016 election and discovered the effects of declining social institutions, especially the church. Learn why churches are more important than ever as America becomes separated through technology loosening in-person social connections.
“The American Dream is rooted not in Washington, but in family, church, and community. Alienated America is a fascinating blend of first class reporting and studious research. Pundits on the left AND right should read this book to understand America.” (Jason Chaffetz, author)