Fall 2020
Racism Exists in Our Churches: Here’s What to Do About It
Sandra T. Montes, EdD
But for all of us who have at some point been victims of racism and white supremacy, of micro- and macro-aggressions, and of not belonging in our own Episcopal Church, this is not new and it has not finished. We are faced with it every time we enter most spaces in the United States.
SCI’s Center for Mariner Advocacy: Responding to Seafarers Trapped by COVID-19
Due to the impact of COVID-19 restrictions, many seafarers remain on ship well beyond the international limit of 12 months, with some having served for 15 or 16 months. At the same time we are witnessing an increase in major maritime accidents and seafarer suicides. Simply put, many countries are not allowing for crew changes…
COVID-19 in Mexican Folk Art
Gerald Dilley
During a vestry meeting in March, our rector, Rev. Graeme Napier, presented his ideas on how we at St. John’s in the Village could continue our ministry of supporting musicians, writers and artists during the pandemic. This later prompted me to think about art and artists in general, and it occurred to me that the…
COVID-19 in a Wounded World
Megan Copley
When the rain poured into Guatemala from the Pacific at the start of the rainy season, it brought with it sultry waves of a foreshadowed reality. COVID-19’s full effects in the region remain uncertain, but it’s clear that they are and will be enormous and wide-ranging. As Cristosal’s country director for Guatemala, Osvaldo Lapuente, told…
Preaching While White
The Rev. Dr. Allison Moore
I am a White preacher who wants to contribute to racial healing and yet, all too often, doesn’t take advantage of opportunities to do so when they arise. But the work of the Black Lives Matter movement, the brutal murder of George Floyd and exposure of the systemic nature of police brutality towards people of…
James Parks Morton: A Remembrance
Marsha Ra
I wandered into the Cathedral for the first time one week before Dean Morton began his remarkable years at St. John the Divine. I was present for his last Sunday and the wonderful celebration of his ministry in December 1996, complete with a high wire walk by Philippe Petit and a performance by the Forces…
Breath is the Body Preparing Us to Live
Cynthia Copeland
Where does the impulse to breathe originate in newly formed and exposed human beings? After we’ve been liberated from the warm, nourishing, and protective womb and have made our traumatic passage through the birth conduit, breath by faith is our sustaining life force—without it, we struggle to survive. We know from Genesis 2:7 that the…
The Color of the Godhead ~ Is It Time to Remove Images of the White Jesus From Churches?
Pamela A. Lewis
“So tell me,” began the tastefully dressed, middle-aged woman, to whom I had just been introduced at a church social event, “how does it feel to be a Black person who attends a church where Jesus and all of the figures in the artwork are white?” The question caught me off guard, which I am…
Ceiling Restoration Begins at St. Paul’s, Staten Island
Since a large part of its ceiling collapsed at the beginning of October, 2019, the main sanctuary of the landmarked Victorian Gothic St. Paul’s Memorial Church in the Stapleton section of Staten Island has been unusable. A comprehensive program of repairs and restoration of the church’s ceiling has now begun, however, and a capital campaign…
Pandemic Food Deliveries Bring People Together
Nancy Houghton
When the first serious reports of Covid-19 hit New York City in early March, I immediately thought of the vulnerable older “seniors” that my organization, Health Advocates for Older People, serves. I would no longer be able to see our program participants at our events, attend services at Heavenly Rest and see my “church friends,”…