Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,
I pray that you’ve had a good week as we continue to celebrate the Resurrection of Our Lord during this holy, fifty days of Eastertide. It was a profoundly important week in the life of our nation in that a white police officer was convicted on all three counts in the murder of an unarmed, Black man, George Floyd. The entire world was watching.
Many of you may know the name The Rev. Canon Stephanie Spellers. She is the Canon to the Presiding Bishop, Michael Curry for Evangelism, Reconciliation and Creation. She is an African American woman who is a true prophet in our age. She is a true “Revolutionary” (see Harvard Divinity School / hds.harvard.edu).
I share with you her words posted on Facebook immediately after the conviction:
Stephanie Spellers:
“Oh Lord, my God. I won’t say you “gave” us this victory, because that would imply that if Derek Chauvin had been found “not guilty,” you were not with us. And you ARE with us. But I will say that your people have prayed, begged, pleaded for a sign. Oh God, how we needed a sign. In the face of unprecedented, inhuman horror – filmed for posterity – we needed to see this one seed of justice and truth sprout. And it just did.
My friends, now we water this seed, ‘til the flower blooms in Brooklyn Center, in Atlanta, in Indianapolis, in Chicago, in Jacksonville, in Honolulu, in all the dry, broken and hurting places across our land. We keep struggling. We keep marching. We keep advocating. We keep listening. We keep reforming and reimagining. We don’t stop.
The difference now is that we know what is possible. The thin blue line can break. Truth can prevail. America – almost against her true nature – can do right. Tonight, for me, that is everything.” [end quote]
We have capable, strong, prophetic leadership in the Episcopal Church, not the least of whom is Presiding Bishop Michael Curry. I am thankful to God for the courageous witness of all our Black and Brown sisters and brothers. Stephanie Spellers newest book is entitled: “The Church Cracked Open: Disruption, Decline, and New Hope for Beloved Community”. In it she looks at how the future of the church is influenced by the pandemic and how the reshaping of our lives together as Beloved Community will continue.
May our Christian witness, corporately as St. Margaret’s and personally, as individuals, reflect the words of Amos: “But let justice roll down as waters, and righteousness a mighty stream.” Amen.
Faithfully,
Jane+
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