News from the Episcopal Church
Episcopalians in the Southeast dig out, clean up from Hurricane Helene and help neighbors where they can
By Melodie Woerman
Posted Oct 9, 2024
Cushions and prayer books from the Cathedral of All Souls in Asheville, North Carolina, are piled outside the building after being damaged by devastating flood waters that poured through the church and nearby streets on Sept. 28. Photo: Facebook
[Episcopal News Service] As power is being restored across the Episcopal Diocese of Western North Carolina, the Cathedral of All Souls in Asheville, North Carolina, has begun its cleanup after Hurricane Helene. Photos posted to its Facebook page show cushions and prayer books stacked outside, rooms filled with items tossed asunder by floodwaters, and massive plastic tubes running throughout the building to help dry things out, even as mold remains a significant problem.
In the nearly two weeks since the hurricane tore through the Southeast United States, causing destruction from coastal storm surges in Florida to mountainous river flooding and landslides in western North Carolina, Episcopal churches and institutions are picking up the pieces even as some are preparing for another hurricane churning in the Gulf of Mexico.
Among the more dramatic images reported days after the storm were of flood waters pouring through the streets around, and into, the cathedral, located in one of the areas hardest-hit by massive flooding after as much as 30 inches of rain fell on the region.
Cathedral members and other Episcopalians in the Asheville area were able to worship together on Oct. 6 at Trinity Church, which hosted an afternoon service of Holy Communion. Trinity’s rector, the Rev. Scott White, began his sermon with a passage from the Book of Job, one of the lessons appointed for the day – “Shall we receive the good at the hand of God and not the bad?”
He said, “We may never know why suffering is allowed to come our way, but suffering does not mean that God has abandoned us. Just as in this story, God does not abandon Job forever. Can the worst that the world has to throw at us come between us and God? I suspect that the answer to that question depends on the day. And I suspect the answer to that question this week has been strained deeply.”
The Diocese of Western North Carolina has created a special page on their website to provide updates on the status of every church in the diocese, ranging from open and conducting services to those that are worshiping elsewhere because of building damage. Some churches are serving as collection sites for needed supplies while others are distributing them. Some also are providing food or a place to access cell or internet service. One is making its washer and dryer available to those who need clean clothes.
The page also lists recovery and relief efforts in cities across the diocese and what they are providing – food, water, supplies and hot meals. Links to where people can donate money to help those affected also is included.
The diocese also has created a Facebook page, dedicated to relief efforts — Asheville Relief – Episcopal Diocese of Western
A tree felled by the high winds of Hurricane Helene damaged the roof of a cabin at Kanuga conference center. Photo: Courtesy of Kanuga
At Kanuga, a conference, retreat and camp center near Hendersonville, North Carolina, an Oct. 8 update notes that progress is happening but not quickly, as the damage across the 1,400-acre campus is extensive. Photos provided to Episcopal News Service show a tree through a cabin roof and the one-acre Bob Foster Education Garden Center completely underwater. The garden is a total loss and will need to be started again from scratch.
The current priorities are assessing water and wind damage on the Kanuga properties, including the conference center, Camp Kanuga and the Bob Campbell Youth Campus, and then restoration of power, water and phone service.
Next will come removing trees “from, well, everywhere,” the update says, with a priority to clear rooftops and roadways. The expectation is that in most places damage can be repaired.
Kanuga’s president and CEO, Michael Sullivan, said the facility then will transition “to serve as a resource for the greater community, housing nurses, doctors, first responders and others. Plans are also underway to support parish mission trips to the area for work that will last months, if not years.”
In the Episcopal Diocese of Georgia, most of the damage came from trees that fell into church roofs or were tossed by strong winds across church properties.
At St. Bartholomew’s in Savannah, which dates to 1896 and is home to the oldest continuing Black congregation in the diocese, a large pecan tree collapsed the roof of the sanctuary on Sept. 26. Church Insurance had a crane on site Oct. 1 to help remove the tree so cleanup could begin.
A large pecan tree fell on and collapsed the roof of St. Bartholomew’s Church in Savannah, Georgia. This photo was taken from the nave. Photo: Courtesy the Diocese of Georgia
After power was restored, Christ the King in Valdosta was able to have services on Oct. 6, with a blue tarp covering damage to its roof. Its parish hall is serving as a collection site Oct. 7-12 for items needed by local farm workers, including baby items and bottled water.
St. Andrew’s in Douglas also had some damage to the church building, but since the parish hall is intact and has power, it has been a place where people can cool off and recharge their devices. The church also has provided food to anyone in the community who wants to stop by, including an early Thanksgiving dinner on Oct. 6, as it cooked turkeys that had defrosted during its power outage.
Anyone in Augusta in need of a hot meal has been welcome each day at the Byllesby Center, which describes itself as a church without a congregation or walls, focused on the needs in those in the neighborhood of Harrisburg.
Many trees were down at Honey Creek, the diocesan retreat center, but it had help in its cleanup, thanks to the Episcopal Camps and Conference Centers network. Camp St. Christopher in the Episcopal Diocese of South Carolina sent 20 volunteers to help with cleanup on Oct. 3 and 4.
Twelve churches in the Episcopal Diocese of Upper South Carolina suffered moderate or minor damage, and almost every church lost power for a period after the hurricane struck, Jessica St. Clair Smith, the diocese’s director of marketing and communications, told ENS. One of them, All Saints in Beech Island, lost part of its roof, which currently is covered by a tarp.
Members of St. Thaddeus’ in Aiken, South Carolina, used lanterns to see after generator power allowed them to cook hot meals for victims of the hurricane. Photo: Courtesy of the Diocese of Upper South Carolina
Worship continued in most places – either indoors or outdoors – and churches have turned to helping people in need. Several found ways to continue operating their soup kitchens on generator power, St. Clair Smith said, and others provided bag lunches for unhoused neighbors or fall clothing collection for the upcoming cold months.
Churches without power provided a place where people could fill up water jugs, and those with power served hot meals, provided charging stations and ice, or just a place where people could cool off in air conditioning.
The diocese established disaster relief teams that already are at work removing trees from church properties and parishioners’ yards. In the coming weeks, those teams will move to the neighboring Diocese of Western North Carolina to help with debris and damage cleanup.
In the Episcopal Diocese of Southwest Florida, a number of churches on the coast were affected by flooding, but seven were especially hard hit: St. Boniface, Siesta Key; Annunciation, Holmes Beach; St. Matthew’s, St. Petersburg; St. Alban’s, St. Pete Beach; Calvary, Indian Rocks Beach; and St. Thomas, Snell Isle. Bishop Douglas Scharf toured those areas Oct. 3 and 4 with members of the diocesan staff and representatives from Church Insurance to get a better sense for the extent of the damage and ways others could be of help.
He said in a letter to the diocese he would be working with the Diocesan Council “and to allocate additional funding to support these ongoing recovery efforts.” He noted the diocese already has been approved for an initial emergency grant from Episcopal Relief & Development with additional funds coming soon.
But even with these plans in place, the diocese is facing another hurricane – Milton – currently a large Category 4 storm that should make landfall in the morning hours of Oct. 10 south of Tampa. It is expected to bring more damage not only to Florida’s west coast but to almost the entire state before it exits into the Atlantic Ocean still with hurricane-force winds.
To prepare, on Oct. 7 the diocese announced that its annual convention, planned for Oct. 11 and 12, has been postponed, with new dates to be decided later.
“Over the past two years, our diocese has experienced significant impacts from several named tropical systems,” Scharf said in the announcement. “As we face the prospect of yet another storm, I am keenly aware of the physical and emotional toll of these traumatic events. As I write this letter, individuals, families, communities and congregations are still recovering from the devastation caused by Hurricane Helene and Tropical Storm Debby. For those in the southern portion of our diocese, the emotional wounds of Hurricane Ian are not yet fully healed. Many are experiencing the cumulative effects of this succession of life-altering experiences.”
Episcopal Relief & Development has been providing direct help to the Dioceses of Florida, Southwest Florida and Georgia since Helene hit. In each case, the agency has been providing gift cards to help people in impacted regions, and where needed, it has supplied household items as well as water, food, fuel and clothing.
“Our emergency responses are great examples of doing what we can to help people where they currently are,” Katie Mears, senior technical specialist, disaster risk and resilience at Episcopal Relief & Development, said. “As the stages of this disaster progress, people’s needs will change, and we are prepared to accommodate them.”
As of Oct. 8, more than 230 people have died as a result of the Helene, according to ABC News, making the storm the deadliest hurricane to hit the United States mainland since Katrina in 2005.
— Melodie Woerman is an Episcopal News Service freelance reporter based in Kansas.
From https://episcopalnewsservice.org/2024/10/09/episcopalians-in-the-southeast-dig-out-clean-up-from-hurricane-helene-and-help-neighbors-where-they-can/
Episcopal Relief & Development responds to needs created by Hurricane Helene
Episcopal Relief & Development
Posted Oct 2, 2024
Following Hurricane Helene, the deadly Category 4 storm that caused widespread damage throughout the southern US, Episcopal Relief & Development is working with church leaders within the Episcopal Diocese of Florida, the Episcopal Diocese of Georgia and the Episcopal Diocese of Southwest Florida to support survivors.
In partnership with the Diocese of Florida, Episcopal Relief & Development is providing gift cards to impacted families in the Apalachee and Santa Fe regions of Florida.
With the Diocese of Southwest Florida, Episcopal Relief & Development is providing gift cards and household items to families in places including St. Petersburg, Tampa, Bradenton, Sarasota and Venice.
Farther north, in partnership with the Diocese of Georgia, Episcopal Relief & Development is providing gift cards and distributing water, food, clothing and fuel to families in need in the cities of Valdosta, Vidalia, Louisville, Augusta and the surrounding areas.
These partnerships will help during the critical first week after impact, before FEMA support becomes available and longer term needs for debris removal, temporary housing, mental health support and other services can begin.
“Our emergency responses are great examples of doing what we can to help people where they currently are,” said Katie Mears, Senior Technical Specialist, Disaster Risk and Resilience, Episcopal Relief & Development. “As the stages of this disaster progress, people’s needs will change and we are prepared to accommodate them.”
Episcopal Relief & Development also continues to support church and community leaders throughout North Carolina, Tennessee and South Carolina as they assess the impact and determine immediate needs.
Hurricane Helene created life-threatening conditions throughout the South, killing at least 160 people. Homes and other structures were destroyed by mudslides, tornadoes and flooding. In some areas, there are significant communication issues due to a lack of cell service and power outages. Downed trees and other road blockages are preventing supplies from reaching the communities in need. Additional health concerns include a scarcity of potable water.
Please pray for the people affected by Hurricane Helene and consider donating to the Hurricane Relief Fund to support their recovery.
From https://episcopalnewsservice.org/pressreleases/episcopal-relief-development-responds-to-needs-created-by-hurricane-helene/
The letter describes democracy as a “moral affirmation” and urges Christians to repudiate “anti-democratic sentiment” — namely, ideologies such as Christian nationalism and racism. Photo: David Paulsen/Episcopal News Service
[Religion News Service] A diverse group of influential Christian leaders is calling on their fellow faithful to protect democracy, arguing that American Christians are compelled to defend voting freedoms as a “test of faith.”
“We write in a moment of fierce urgency, as the people of God animated by faith, hope, and love,” said the statement. “It is in this spirit that we reaffirm Christian support for democracy and invite all Christians and people of moral conscience to do the same.”
Episcopal Church Presiding Bishop Michael Curry was among about 200 leaders and writers from mainline Christian denominations, the Catholic and Greek Orthodox church, as well as Black Protestant and evangelical Christianity, who signed the letter. It describes democracy as a “moral affirmation” and urges Christians to repudiate “anti-democratic sentiment” — namely, ideologies such as Christian nationalism and racism. The statement pointed to the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol as one of several recent anti-democratic acts, noting some insurrectionists who participated in the violence that day “did so in the name of Jesus Christ.”
“In recent years, in the United States and around the world, the Christian faith has been distorted and leveraged in defense of authoritarian leaders who seek to erode freedoms essential to a thriving democracy,” the letter reads. “Some Christians enthusiastically praise dictatorial leaders and regimes. Some have willingly accepted or even participated in political violence.”
As a counter to these threats, the statement outlines a framework for Christian support of a democratic society, citing principles such as the belief that all people are made in the image of God, the biblical mandate to love the stranger and one’s enemy, Jesus Christ’s call to be peacemakers, and even democracy as a counterbalance to sin.
“The mechanisms of democracy, the balances of power, and the protections of a Constitutional framework rein in human tendencies to dominate, demean, and exploit,” the statement reads.
The statement was chiefly organized by Jim Wallis, head of Georgetown University’s Center on Faith and Justice, which is hosting a two-day summit tied to the statement in Washington, D.C., this week. Other signers include the Rev. Galen Carey, vice president of government relations for the National Association of Evangelicals; Michele Dunne, head of the Franciscan Action Network; Kristin Kobes Du Mez, author and professor at Calvin University; the Rev. Leslie Copeland-Tune, a top official at the National Council of Churches; Washington Post columnist E. J. Dionne; Yolanda Pierce, dean of Vanderbilt Divinity School; and Colin Watson, former executive director of the Christian Reformed Church in North America.
Wallis said he felt the letter was needed because of unique threats facing U.S. democracy this year, calling it a “testing time for our nation” both politically and religiously.
“It’s a national test of who we are as a people, right to the heart of our faith,” he said.
But even setting aside the ongoing presidential election, Wallis said he hopes the broader principles mentioned in the statement outlive the current political moment.
“It’s a theological tool to deal with this election and beyond,” Wallis said.
He was echoed by Bishop W. Darin Moore of the AME Zion Church, who said his denomination — which has been called the “Freedom Church” and boasts Frederick Douglass as one of its historic members — has a long tradition of fighting for values outlined in the statement.
“It’s in our spiritual DNA that we have never bifurcated between our ecclesiology and our struggle for justice,” said Moore, who was among those who signed the statement.
He also celebrated those who have become active in “courageous conversations” around what it means “to live in a nation that claims to affirm religious pluralism and inclusive democracy, and yet retain our values, be they Christian, Muslim, Jews or no traditional religion.”
Episcopal Diocese of Washington Bishop Mariann Budde highlighted the statement’s call for Christians to “repudiate the tenets of Christian Nationalism and the idea that Christians or Christianity should hold a place of privilege and power in our nation’s governance.” She told RNS the text was not meant to rehash long-standing criticisms of Christian nationalism, but rather to make a “positive statement of Christian engagement in the public realm — in particular in a democratic society.”
Asked how the statement relates to her experience as the bishop of Washington — which, in addition to duties typical of any bishop, also includes engagement with high-ranking elected officials who attend various Episcopal churches in the region — Budde said values that inform her public engagement include those which “as Christians, we can rightfully uphold, maybe even have a responsibility to uphold.” Among them: addressing “disparities between wealth and poverty, protecting religious pluralism and being peacemakers.”
The letter notes its signers do not agree on all issues, citing long-standing differences on foreign policy, abortion, gender and sexuality. Even so, signers say they remain “committed to preserving a democratic space within which we can collectively discern the way forward with respect to these vital issues,” and that their fellow Christians should be too.
“In keeping with these principles, we, the undersigned, commit to advancing a multi-racial, multi-faith, multi-generational democracy, where every voice is valued and every person afforded the opportunity to participate fully and freely in the life of the community,” the statement concludes.
Jerusalem’s patriarchs, heads of the churches call for urgent need to end the war
Posted Aug 27, 2024
[Anglican Communion News Service] On Aug. 26, the Patriarchs and Heads of the Churches in Jerusalem issued a statement calling for “the urgent need to conclude the present war, to turn from the pursuit of death and destruction towards the promotion of life and peace.”
Archbishop Hosam Naoum, primate of the Province of Jerusalem & the Middle East and bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem, was among those issuing the statement, which follows.
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.” Matthew 5:9
As we rapidly approach the twelfth month of the present devastating war, We, the Patriarchs and Heads of the Churches in Jerusalem, feel compelled to once again express our grave concerns over its dire direction. For despite repeated calls for the de-escalation of violence from ourselves and the international community, the situation in our beloved Holy Land has only continued to deteriorate.
Millions of refugees remain displaced, their homes inaccessible, destroyed, or beyond repair. Hundreds of innocents are weekly killed or severely wounded by indiscriminate attacks. Countless others continue to endure hunger, thirst, and infectious disease. Among these are those languishing in captivity on all sides, who additionally face the risk of ill-treatment from their captors. Still others, far from the battlefields, have suffered unchecked attacks against their villages, pastures, and farmlands.
Throughout this all, ceasefire negotiations have dragged on interminably, with the leaders of the warring parties seemingly more concerned with political considerations than bringing an end to the pursuit of death and destruction. These repeated delays, coupled with other provocative acts, have only served to heighten tensions to the point where we stand at the precipice of a full-blown regional war.
In view of these alarming developments, We, the Patriarchs and Heads of the Churches in Jerusalem, once again implore the leaders of the warring parties to heed our calls and those of the international community (UNSC Resolution 2735) to reach a rapid agreement for a ceasefire resulting in the end of the war, the release of all captives, the return of the displaced, the treatment of the sick and wounded, the relief of those who hunger and thirst, and the rebuilding of all public and private civilian structures that have been destroyed.
Just as importantly, we call upon the leaders of these peoples, in concert with the international community, to take up without delay diplomatic discussions addressing longstanding grievances between them, leading to concrete steps that promote a just and lasting peace in our region through the adoption of an internationally legitimate two-state solution.
While issuing these calls in the best interests of all who inhabit the region, we express our special concern for those Christian communities under our pastoral charge. These include those taking refuge in Gaza at St. Porphyrios Orthodox Church and Holy Family Catholic Church, as well as the courageous staff of al-Ahli Anglican Hospital and the patients under their care. We pledge to them our continued prayers and support both now and at the conclusion of the war, when we will labor together to rebuild and strengthen the Christian presence in Gaza, as well as throughout the Holy Land.
Finally, we appeal to Christians and all those of goodwill around the world to promote a vision of life and peace throughout our war-torn region, recalling Christ’s words, quoted above: “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God” (Matthew 5:9). During this time of extreme crisis, let us all recommit ourselves towards working and praying together in the hope that, by the grace of the Almighty, we might begin to realize this sacred vision of peace among all God’s children.
—The Patriarchs and Heads of the Churches in Jerusalem
New York youth embark on Jonathan Daniels pilgrimage, visit historic Civil Rights’ sites
By Shireen Korkzan
Posted 20 hours ago
Alabama Bishop Glenda Curry prays in front of the site of Varner’s Cash Store, where white Episcopal seminarian Jonathan Daniels was killed on Aug. 20, 1965, protecting a Black civil rights activist from a gunshot blast by a white part-time deputy. Photo: Shireen Korkzan/ENS
[Episcopal News Service – Hayneville, Alabama] Angel Williams, a 15-year-old from New York City, thought she already knew a lot about the Civil Rights Movement from her high school U.S. history class. But when Williams joined 13 other teenagers from the Diocese of New York for its 10th annual Blessed Jonathan Daniels Youth Civil Rights pilgrimage, she realized she still has much to learn.
“Visiting the Civil Rights’ places that we did was very powerful,” Williams told Episcopal News Service. “For instance, we learned in books that lynching happened back then, but then the museums we went to showed us actual photos of Black men getting lynched, and it was very, very, very disturbing for me.”
The three-day pilgrimage began on Aug. 8 in Atlanta, Georgia, where the young pilgrims visited Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historical Park, where his childhood home and his burial site are located. Ebenezer Baptist Church, where King was co-pastor from 1960 until his assassination in 1968, is also located in the national park.
Members of the Diocese of New York’s 10th annual Blest Jonathan Daniels Youth Civil Rights pilgrimage on Aug. 9, 2024, visited 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, to learn about the 1963 bombing that killed four Black girls, and about the historic church’s role in supporting the Civil Rights Movement. Photo: Shireen Korkzan/ENS
The young pilgrims concluded their first day by watching and discussing “Mighty Times: The Children’s March,” the Academy Award-winning short documentary about the young activists involved in the 1963 Children’s Crusade for civil rights in Birmingham.
“I didn’t know that thousands of kids marched and fought for freedom during the Civil Rights Movement. I didn’t know any of that,” Brianny Martinez, a 15-year-old parishioner at St. Anne’s Episcopal Church in the Bronx, told ENS. “That information was new to me, but it also made me feel kind of special because I’m also a kid and I also have the power to do the same thing those kids did.”
On Aug. 9, the pilgrims traveled to Alabama to visit the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute and 16th Street Baptist Church before traveling to The Legacy Museum in Montgomery.
Samuel Bourne, a 16-year-old parishioner at Church of the Holy Innocents in Highland Falls, New York, told ENS that he was “genuinely shocked” to see a real Ku Klux Klan uniform on display at the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute.
“You think something like that is just a movie prop because you only see it in textbooks and in movies anymore, but then actually seeing one in person with just a glass window standing in front of it, you remember that this time in history isn’t Hollywood,” Bourne said. “An actual racist person wore that uniform to terrorize other people. It was genuinely shocking to see.”
Martinez, who is Latina, also said she “didn’t expect” to see at The Legacy Museum a wall full of signs that excluded services from not just Black people, but also Jewish people, Latinos and other people of color. Even though Martinez already knew that most racist laws generally applied to all people of color, she said it’s rarely mentioned in discourse about the Civil Rights Movement, if at all.
“This is why if another Latino says to me that racism is just a Black and white issue, I would say, ‘excuse you, but no,’” Martinez said. “This is everybody’s issue, not just Black people’s issue. Racism hurts us all, but the problem is we don’t talk about it enough in that sense other than just Black versus white.”
Martinez, Bourne and Williams all said that they never knew about the 1963 bombing at 16th Street Baptist Church that killed four Black girls until they visited the Birmingham church in person on Aug. 9.
“No, they didn’t teach us that in school,” Williams said.
A memorial marker for Jonathan Daniels lies at the Lowndes County Courthouse Square in Hayneville, Alabama. Photo: Shireen Korkzan/ENS
Carla Burns is the former chair of the Diocese of New York’s anti-racism committee and coordinator of the diocesan youth pilgrimage. She also was a teacher and a librarian for 45 years. She told ENS that offering opportunities for youth to visit historic sites is more important now than ever as some lawmakers push to pass legislation to censor school curricula that teach concepts of social justice, systemic racism and, what have become, other politically divisive topics.
“Much of this history isn’t being taught, or it’s being taught in a way that’s untrue, like the claim that slavery was a ‘vocational experience’ for African people. It’s just ludicrous,” said Burns, whose ancestors were enslaved by Dutch settlers in New York. “New York is supposed to be progressive, but I know the New York state curriculum. These kids are not learning the history that they learn when they come on this pilgrimage. They’re always astounded.”
Burns also mentioned that the youth pilgrims are always surprised to learn that New York City in the 18th century had the second-highest number of enslaved people, behind Charleston, South Carolina.
The pilgrimage concluded on Aug. 10 in Hayneville, Alabama, near Montgomery and Selma, where the teenagers joined hundreds of other pilgrims for the Diocese of Alabama’s 27th annual Jonathan Daniels pilgrimage. The churchwide pilgrimage, co-sponsored by the Diocese of Alabama and the Pensacola, Florida-based Diocese of the Central Gulf Coast, is named after Episcopal martyr Jonathan Daniels, who was killed Aug. 20, 1965. Daniels, a white 26-year-old seminarian originally from Keene, New Hampshire, and three other civil rights activists – two Black female activists and a white Catholic priest – had just been released from jail after picketing white-only businesses and were heading to Varner’s Cash Store to purchase some beverages, when Tom Coleman, a white, part-time deputy sheriff, confronted them. Daniels shielded 17-year-old Ruby Sales from Coleman’s shotgun blast, taking the fatal wound himself.
A memorial marker detailing Episcopal martyr Jonathan Daniels’ assassination stands next to the site of the old Varner’s Cash Store in Hayneville, Alabama, where Daniels was killed on Aug. 20, 1965. Photo: Shireen Korkzan/ENS
“This pilgrimage isn’t just a show to remember Jonathan Daniels. It’s to remember the work that he did and to continue it,” Burns said. “He was a young person who did this work, and young people in The Episcopal Church will continue doing the anti-racist work that Jonathan Daniels engaged in and lost his life to.”
Daniels’ feast day in The Episcopal Church is Aug. 14, the day he and the other activists were arrested for protesting, six days before his assassination.
Since the Diocese of Alabama launched the first Jonathan Daniels pilgrimage in 1998, hundreds of Episcopalians – including clergy, seminarians and lay people – and civil rights activists gather on or around Daniels’ feast day annually. Like previous years, this year’s pilgrimage began at the Lowndes County Courthouse square before the pilgrims marched to the old county jail where Daniels was detained. The procession continued to the site of the old Varner’s Cash Store – now an insurance agency office – and ended back at the courthouse, where an all-white jury tried and acquitted the man who shot Daniels. The pilgrims sang, prayed and reflected throughout the march.
The Diocese of Alabama’s 27th annual Jonathan Daniels pilgrimage in Hayneville concluded with a special worship service commemorating Daniels and the 14 other known martyrs who were killed in Alabama during the Civil Rights Movement. Alabama Bishop Glenda Curry, right, was the celebrant. Mississippi Bishop Dorothy Sanders Wells, center, preached. An icon of Jonathan Daniels is standing in front of the Communion table on Aug. 10, 2024. Photo: Shireen Korkzan/ENS
Some of the youth pilgrims from the dioceses of New York and Alabama marched while holding up signs profiling Daniels or one of the 14 other known martyrs who were killed in Alabama during the Civil Rights Movement. They later shared information about each martyr at a special worship service inside the courthouse. Alabama Bishop Glenda Curry and Mississippi Bishop Dorothy Sanders Wells, a Black Alabama native, shared their experiences with racism in a Q&A discussion before celebrating the Eucharist.
“I describe myself often as the person who came of age post-Civil Rights Act of 1964, post-Brown v. Board of Education, after folks like Jonathan Daniels had come along and sacrificed for me,” said Wells, who in July became the first person of color and first woman to serve as Mississippi’s bishop. “It’s not lost on me how many people sacrificed so much, gave their lives … that I would always know a world that was a different place than the folks who came before me. It’s not lost on me the sacrifices of so many human beings who have made it possible for me to be sitting and having this conversation with you today.”
The Diocese of Alabama and the Diocese of the Central Gulf Coast will observe the 60th anniversary of Daniels’ assassination together in 2025.
Before the churchwide pilgrimage began, the youth pilgrims met Richard Morrisroe, the former Catholic priest who was with Daniels the moment he was killed. Morrisroe was also shot – in the back – and spent years relearning how to walk and coping with post-traumatic stress disorder. Morrisroe shared his story and answered any questions the pilgrims had for him.
Burns said she hopes the youth pilgrimage will someday morph into a churchwide conference that encourages young Episcopalians to maintain Daniels’ legacy through action and not just by remembrance. That’s why, she said, the pilgrims from the Diocese of New York traditionally wear shirts that list the names of the Alabama martyrs and say, “Honor Our Martyrs. Register and vote,” at the wider gathering in Hayneville.
Martinez, Bourne and Williams all said they recommend the Blessed Jonathan Daniels Youth Civil Rights pilgrimage for teenagers who live in the Diocese of New York.
“You get to not only make new friends and share a unique opportunity, but also learn more than you can imagine,” Bourne said. “This pilgrimage is a life-changing experience.”
— Shireen Korkzan is a reporter and assistant editor for Episcopal News Service based in northern Indiana. She can be reached at skorkzan@episcopalchurch.org.
From https://episcopalnewsservice.org/2024/08/14/new-york-youth-embark-on-jonathan-daniels-pilgrimage-visit-historic-civil-rights-sites/
Presiding bishop calls for immediate ceasefire, prolonged commitment to Gaza in letter to President Joe Biden
By Shireen Korkzan
Posted Jul 24, 2024
Presiding Bishop Michael Curry delivers a video message on immigration on July 15, 2019. Photo: Episcopal Church, via video
[Episcopal News Service] Presiding Bishop Michael Curry sent a letter to President Joe Biden on July 23 calling on the U.S. government to push for an immediate and sustained ceasefire. He also called for a prolonged commitment to support Gazans as they rebuild; and to hold Israel accountable for human rights abuses, violence and illegal land seizures.
“We have expressed our horror at the loss of civilian life, Israeli and Palestinian, and have urged the U.S. government to use all the leverage it can to call for a permanent ceasefire, humanitarian access, the release of hostages, and an end to the death and suffering of innocent civilians, including children,” Curry wrote in the letter.
The presiding bishop’s letter to Biden coincides with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit to the United States this week, a visit that has sparked nationwide protests and additional calls for a ceasefire. Netanyahu addressed a joint meeting of Congress in the afternoon on July 24. About 5,000 pro-Palestinian demonstrators gathered outside the U.S. Capitol ahead of Netanyahu’s address, prompting Capitol Police to deploy pepper spray.
“Clarity begins by knowing the difference between good and evil, yet incredibly many anti-Israel protesters, many choose to stand with evil. They stand with Hamas. They stand with rapists and murderers,” Netanyahu said, describing the atrocities Hamas committed against Israeli citizens living in kibbutzim. “These protesters stand with them. They should be ashamed of themselves.”
In his letter, Curry cited several resolutions on Israel and Palestine passed last month during the 81st General Convention in Louisville, Kentucky.
“Our Church recognizes the moral and legal obligations of the United States to the people of Gaza, given the role of the United States in providing military aid and diplomatic support for the war,” Curry wrote. “The Episcopal Church opposes any military aid in violation of human rights (Resolution D012), and we must be prepared to join in historic levels of aid and investment to fund the restoration and rebuilding of Gaza (D009). We call for an immediate ceasefire (D056) as well as the release of all unjustly detained prisoners with a future ensuring equal rights and peace (D007).”
Curry also mentioned how the church has “raised concerns again and again” about attacks against Al Ahli Arab Hospital since the war between Israel and Hamas started in October 2023. Earlier this month, the hospital, which is operated by the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem, briefly closed in response to an Israeli evacuation order. The Diocese of Jerusalem also announced that a hospital ambulance had been fired on and severely damaged by a sniper; the driver was unharmed, and no patients were in the ambulance at the time.
“We recognize your longstanding support of Israel, but call on you to recognize that we cannot continue with this level of impunity, with assurances of change but ongoing violence and killing of civilians, targeting of medical facilities and staff, and bombing of refugee camps, U.N. facilities, and hospitals,” Curry said in his letter to Biden. “Please take this moment and use the power of the U.S. government to ensure Israel makes meaningful changes and to push forward a way of peace in the region.”
The war has resulted in the deaths of nearly 40,000 Palestinians in Gaza and at least 1,200 Israelis, according to the United Nations. On Oct. 3, Hamas took some 255 hostages; 135 have been released. The war has so far displaced almost 2 million Palestinians, or 83% of the population. Israel has allegedly arrested more than 9,700 Palestinians from the West Bank since the war started, according to Addameer, a Palestinian nongovernmental organization based in Ramallah in the West Bank.
A man holds a banner as Pro-Palestinian demonstrators protest, on the day of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s address to a joint meeting of the U.S. Congress, on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., July 24, 2024. Photo: Seth Herald/Reuters
Many of the protesters in Washington, D.C., are Jewish, and about 400 of them, including two dozen rabbis, participated in a July 23 demonstration in the House of Representatives office building, which led to 200 arrests by Capitol Police. Jewish Voice for Peace, an anti-Zionist human rights organization, staged the demonstration. In the letter, Curry said The Episcopal Church also asks the Biden administration to support funding the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East and to advocate for the release of Palestinians who are being held without charges or trial, as well as to “indicate a willingness” to discontinue U.S. security support to Israel.
The church has made repeated calls for the release of Layan Nasir, a 23-year-old Palestinian Anglican woman held in administrative detention without charge by Israel since April.
— Shireen Korkzan is a reporter and assistant editor for Episcopal News Service based in northern Indiana. She can be reached at skorkzan@episcopalchurch.org.
The Philadelphia Eleven
A film by Margo Guernsey and Nikki Bramley
Time Travel Productions Ltd.
The Philadelphia Eleven recounts the story of the first 11 women ordained as priests of the Episcopal Church on July 29, 1974. The film has debuted several months before the church celebrates the 50th anniversary of these ordinations, reminding us just how recently the ordination of women as priests was strongly opposed by both male clergy and laity.
Using archival footage and contemporary interviews, the 90-minute film traces the history of the 11 women: Merrill Bitner, Alla Renee Bozarth-Campbell, Alison Cheek, Marie Moorefield Fleischer, Emily Hewitt, Carter Heyward, Suzanne Hiatt, Jeannette Piccard, Betty Bone Schiess, Katrina Swanson, and Nancy Wittig. The film offers firsthand accounts by Heyward, Bozarth-Campbell, Bitner and Wittig — along with Cheek, who has since died. Also appearing in the documentary are the late Pauli Murray, the first Black woman to be ordained a priest in the Episcopal Church on January 8, 1977, and the late Bishop Barbara Harris, the first woman (and first Black woman) to be ordained and consecrated a bishop on September 24, 1988.
The documentary invites viewers into these women’s journeys— through roadblocks, threats of violence and death, and the admonition of priests, bishops, and a presiding bishop — along the path to ordination. Although the 11 women were diverse in background and age, they shared a sense or calling to the work of priests — and the film reveals the depth of their commitment to the belief in their calling and their willingness to suffer the consequences of that commitment. The documentary moves deftly between footage of more recent interviews with the women, recalling their determination on the road to the 1974 ordinations, and archival footage showing the women’s struggles leading up to their ordinations.
The year 1970 brought two events that began a sea change in the Episcopal Church: The first women were ordained as deacons, and the first women were seated as voting deputies at the church’s General Convention. Bitner made an impassioned plea for the ordination of women as priests. Although the measure gained traction, it was voted down. Three years later, when the measure was brought back before the next General Convention, it fell again.
Merrill Bitner states in the film that “the oppressor cannot be the instrument of the liberation of the oppressed.”
Bitner’s observation is duly noted: Persons who vehemently opposed the ordination of women were unlikely to become supporters in any way. But the ordination of women would necessarily require the support of male bishops and priests. The documentary introduces viewers to male clergy — bishops and priests — who stood in support of the ordination of women, even as other clergy and laypersons intensely disagreed, on theological and ideological bases.
By 1974, 11 women who believed they were called to the priesthood had been identified as deacons in good standing, with recognizable accomplishments in ministry — women who could otherwise be qualified to be ordained as priests but for their sex. Three retired bishops agreed to ordain the women: Daniel Corrigan, retired Bishop Suffragan of Colorado; Robert L. DeWitt, retired Bishop of Pennsylvania; and Edward R. Welles II, retired Bishop of West Missouri. The three retired bishops were joined by Bishop Antonio Ramos of Costa Rica.
The film shows another kind of courage and solidarity. The women’s ordination was held in Philadelphia — the same city in which Absalom Jones became the first Black man to be ordained a priest in the Episcopal Church in 1802, by Bishop William White. The Church of the Advocate —a Black parish in Philadelphia — was the site of the women’s ordination.
Although no Black women deacons were identified as being ready to be ordained as priests at the time, the documentary shows how the Church of the Advocate was willing to stand in solidarity with the women, just a decade after the enactment of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and in the midst of nationwide conversation regarding the Equal Rights Amendment. The mixed-race crowd gathered at the ordination and shown in archival videos showed support for the women. The archival footage also revealed condemnation of the ordination.
After their ordinations, the 11 women initially were unable to serve churches or celebrate the Eucharist. Alison Cheek made history at St. Stephen and the Incarnation Church in Washington, D.C., when she became the first woman to celebrate the Eucharist in an Episcopal church on November 10, 1974, having been welcomed there by the Rev. William Wendt. Cheek had been a married mother of four children before being ordained at age 46.
St. Stephen and the Incarnation Church made news again when four more women — Lee McGee Street, Alison Palmer, Betty Powell Rosenberg, and Diane Tickell —were ordained there on September 7, 1975. Bishop George W. Barrett, retired Bishop of Rochester, presided at that ordination.
Bishops Corrigan, DeWitt, Welles and Barrett were all censured by the House of Bishops for their part in the ordination of the first 15 women. Both Wendt and Peter Beebe, who invited Alison Cheek to celebrate the Eucharist at Christ Church, Oberlin, Ohio, on December 7, 1974, faced charges for having violated church canons by allowing Cheek to serve as celebrant.
Beebe was convicted, and although his conviction was overturned, he left the priesthood. If there is an honest critique of the film, it is that it doesn’t seem to give sufficient acknowledgment to the courage of the men who stood with the women, liberators of the oppressed and without whose support their ordinations and public ministry would have been impossible. The story of Peter Beebe’s conviction — and the attorney who represented him, John Rea, is especially worth noting.
Deputies to General Convention in 1976 voted to allow the ordination of women and to approve the ordinations of the women from 1974 and 1975.”As of 2022, 6,180 women have been ordained as Episcopal priests,” the film says. “Of those, it is estimated that 10% or 600 are women of color.” It adds, “As of 2022, 30% of all active Episcopal bishops are women and 40% of all active Episcopal priests are women.” The documentary celebrates the story of women priests, as it challenges viewers to consider other ways in which the Church may not be perceived as welcoming for all of God’s people.
Information about streaming rights for The Philadelphia Eleven, and showings in various locations, is available at philadelphiaelevenfilm.com.
On July 29th, the Episcopal Church will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the ordination of its first eleven women priests. All Saints will hold a special event the evening before this important anniversary. The Rt. Rev. Glenda S. Curry, Bishop of the Diocese of Alabama, will join us on Sunday, July 28th, at 5:30pm for Eucharist, followed by a showing of "The Philadelphia Eleven," a recent documentary which tells the story of these women. All are welcome to join us. For questions, please contact The Rev. Cindy Carter, ccarter@allsaintsbhm.org.
From Retracing the Steps of the Philadelphia 11 - The Living Church
The eleven women who were ordained priests at the Church of the Advocate, Philadelphia, on the feast of St. Mary and St. Martha, July 29, 1974, two years before General Convention authorized the ordination of women. The women ordained were Merrill Bittner, Alla Bozarth-Campbell, Alison Cheek, Emily Hewitt, Carter Heyward, Suzanne Hiatt, Marie Moorefield, Jeanette Piccard, Betty Schiess, Katrina Swanson, and Nancy Wittig. The bishops who presided at the service were Daniel Corrigan, Robert DeWitt, and Edward Welles II. These ordinations, and the ordinations of four more women in Sept. 1975 in Washington, D.C., were widely criticized as irregular because the Episcopal Church had not yet authorized the ordination of women to the priesthood. In 1976 the House of Bishops affirmed the validity of the ordinations by requiring of the fifteen women only “an act of completion” that would be “a liturgical incorporation of what was done on those two occasions” in Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. All of the “Philadelphia Eleven” participated in public events of “completion” within the following year, with the exception of Marie Moorefield who left the Episcopal Church to join the United Methodist Church. See Ordination of Women.
ACNS
Anglican Communion News Service
The Anglican Alliance calls for prayer and support to communities devastated by Hurricane Beryl
Posted on: July 3, 2024 4:31 PM
Photo Credit: NASA
The Anglican Alliance have called for prayer and support for the island communities devastated by Hurricane Beryl, a category 4 hurricane, which is sweeping through the Caribbean. Hurricane Beryl passed between St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Grenada and directly hit Carriacou at 222 km/hr. The winds, heavy rains, and dangerous storms have caused devastating loss and damage to homes, public buildings, and sea vessels. The hurricane then directly struck Union Island where the BBC has reported ‘almost the whole island is homeless’, with 90% of buildings damaged or destroyed. Still in its projected path are Jamaica, the Cayman Islands and the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico, with Haiti and the Dominican Republic also issuing warnings and advisories.
While dealing with the impact of the hurricane in his own island home of Grenada, the Anglican Alliance’s Caribbean Facilitator, Clifton Nedd, has shared his extreme concern for the islands directly in Beryl’s path. He said: “Hurricane Beryl caused catastrophic damage, especially on the island of Carriacou [and since then on Union Island]. It is heartbreaking to see the images and videos that are emerging. There will be a fuller assessment in daylight hours. The destruction appears to be total, and the impacts are physical, material and psychological.”
So far, there are no reports of loss of life, but many people will have been made homeless. People from vulnerable groups, who tend to live in more precarious circumstances, will have been particularly affected. Carriacou (one of the three islands that make up Grenada) has two Anglican parishes and Bishop’s College secondary school, with at least one church losing its roof. There are also reports of damage to other Anglican buildings in the Diocese of the Winward Islands, including the Anglican Cathedral in St Vincent, where the roof was ripped off. Power outages due to the hurricane have impacted communications so a comprehensive picture will only emerge in the coming days.
According to UN OCHA, Beryl has further intensified to a category 5 hurricane and is forecasted to make landfall in Jamaica today (3 July) with some potential impact on the southern coasts of Haiti and the Cayman Islands. Hurricane Beryl strengthened from a tropical depression to a major hurricane in the Atlantic in just 42 hours, a phenomenon only recorded six times before. It has also come unusually early in the hurricane season. Scientists say that climate breakdown caused by human activity has increased the intensity and frequency of destructive tropical storms, due to warming oceans.
As Hurricane Beryl so painfully illustrates, the brunt of climate change impacts is being born by vulnerable communities, including small-island developing states. Ralph Gonsalves, the Prime Minister of St Vincent and the Grenadines has decried the lack of political will in rich nations. In an interview on Monday he said, “I am hopeful that what is happening – and we are quite early in the hurricane season – will alert them to our vulnerabilities… and encourage them to honour the commitments they have made on a range of issues, from the Paris Accord to the current time.”
The Anglican Alliance brings together those in the Anglican family of churches and agencies to work together for a world free of poverty and injustice. Today they have called Anglicans to pray for the affected communities and the Church as it responds to their needs.
With experience of the terrible Hurricane Ivan, Clifton reports that the most immediate needs will be dry foodstuff, clean water and materials for temporary shelter as most houses have had their roofs blown away.
The Anglican Alliance is already connecting across the Communion for a rapid response fund to support immediate needs. They will then work collaboratively with the Province of the West Indies and agencies around the Communion as the Church plans a longer-term recovery response.
For more information about the work of the Anglican Alliance and how you can support, visit the Anglican Alliance here