Transcript A History of Advocacy in the Episcopal Church 1789

A History of Advocacy in the
Episcopal Church
1789 - 1997
1784
Samuel Seabury is consecrated as the 1st
Bishop of the American Church by the non
juring bishops in Scotland.
In return, Bishop Seabury agrees that the
American church will use the Scottish Prayer
Book.
1789
General Convention
adopted the Constitution of the Protestant
Episcopal Church in America.
1794
Absalom Jones
Organized the Free African Society
First African-American Episcopal
Priest, 1802
Commemorated on February 13
1826
Sunday School Union
Urged Sunday Schools to teach the beliefs
of the Episcopal Church, using
Bible
The Book of Common Prayer
Catechism
1835
General Convention
All Members are considered
missionaries.
1851
Thomas Gallaudet
Bible class for
deaf people at
St. Stephen’s
Church
New York NY
Commemorated on August 27
1853
William Augustus Muhlenburg
Muhlenburg Memorial
Asks the Church to
- Work with other denominations.
- Present the Gospel in an American Context.
Commemorated April 8
1854
James Lloyd Beck
“Apostle of the Wilderness”
Worked among the Oneida,
Chippewa & Ojibwa
1858
The University of the South
(Sewanee) is founded.
1859
26th General Convention
“Go among the poor, the
outcasts, the unloved and
the degraded.”
1861
The first meeting of the General Council of the
Protestant Episcopal Church in the Confederate
States of America.
Although they never separated from the Church, they
met three more times before 1865.
1865
Phillips Brooks
Popularly
known for
the lyrics to
“O Little
Town of
Bethlehem.”
Wrote a sermon
praising Lincoln and
condemning slavery.
Commemorated on January 23
1865
Sister Constance & her
Companions
Formed the Sisterhood of St. Mary to
minister to the sick and dying of the
Memphis Yellow Fever Epidemic.
The Martyrs of Memphis are remembered on September 9
1866
Anna Julia Cooper was Christian educator
and advocate for children who educated
freed African-Americans after the Civil War.
1871
General Convention
Authorized the
women of the
church to organize
the Auxiliary. In
January of 1872, it
began its work.
Julia Chester Emory
served as the General
Secretary to the Board of
Missions for forty years.
She is commemorated on January 9
1874
William D Wilson
In his address “The Mutual Obligations of Capital and
Labor” to the first Church Congress, said:
To the poor Christ said, “Be content
with your wages,” and to the rich,
“Work with your own hands.”
1876
Henry Winter Syle
Ordained to the Diaconate making him
the first deaf person to be ordained.
Commemorated on August 27
1883
Conference on the Relation of
the Church to the Colored
People
Meeting at Sewanee, drafted a canon to
separate Black Episcopalians into a nongeographical racial diocese.
1883
Richard Hooker Wilmer
The only
bishop
consecrated
in the
Confederate
States.
Did not support
separate
jurisdiction for
Black
Episcopalians.
1889
United Offering
Now known as the United
Thank Offering, was
established by the Women’s
Auxiliary to the Board of
Missions of the Episcopal
Church.
1907
Church Workers Among Colored
People
The report
recommended
integration of Black
Episcopalians into the
Episcopal Church.
Opposed the 1883
Sewanee
Conference’s
proposal to have
non geographical
racial dioceses.
1909
Charles D. Williams
Fourth Bishop of Michigan
Believed that
labor was not a
commodity.
“The value of a
man is more
precious than a
bale of cotton.”
1916
William Lawrence
Seventh Bishop of Massachusetts
“We must turn our forces to give the
children education through the home,
the church and all the influences of
life.”
“The child develops
in mind, body and
spirit through our
aid and leadership.”
1917
Paul Jones
Fourth Bishop of Utah
Opposed America’s
participation in World
War I.
Said, “War is UnChristian.”
And, was forced
to resign.
Commemorated on
September 4
1922
47th General Convention
In response to World War I, the
House of Bishops called for a
“warless” world and a reduction of
armaments.
1929
Appalachian School at Penland
Established by the United Thank Offering, in the
Diocese of Western North Carolina, its community
work has helped to reconnect the generations by
serving as nurse, home and parent for boys and girls
between the ages of 2 and 14.
1934
Vida Scudder
In The Spirit of Missions her article on social
awareness and action, she writes:
“The church advances toward triumph
only if we, her children, march with the
Cross of Christ before us.”
1948
Seabury Curriculum
Designed to bring the best of theory and
practice to bear on present needs in Christian
education.
1948
Seabury Curriculum designated 5
major areas of Christian knowledge
1. God’s self-revelation are recorded in the Bible and in Christ’s life and
teachings.
2. Historic life of the Church, including present day work.
3. The beliefs of the Church.
4. The Prayer Book, liturgy, and worship of the Church.
5. The world in which we live and the Christian’s duties, problems and
opportunities in it.
1952
Crisis at Sewanee
Board of Trustees
vote not to admit
African Americans into
its student body.
8 faculty resign.
1955
General Convention
In response to Brown v Board of
Education of Topeka KS, passed a
resolution calling for racial
cooperation in the Episcopal Church.
1961
John M. Gessell
Education includes our
real-life together,
serving Christ in
“The result of our education for
community.
religious life is that we are raising a
generation of stillborn children.”
The Urgency of the Church’s Educational Task
1965
Jonathan Daniels
He attended Holy Communion in Selma,
Alabama, with some of his friends who
were African-American. They weren’t
welcome at the altar
August 20th, he stepped
into the pathway of a bullet
intended for a 17 year old
girl, and was killed.
Commemorated
on August 14
1967
John Hines
former Presiding Bishop
In his sermon to the 67th Convention, called
for a commitment to social justice.
Commissioned the Bayne Report on the
role of the church relative to social criticism.
1968
The founding of the Union of
Black Epsicopalians at St.
Augustine’s College in Raleigh
NC.
Its mission: to combat racism in
the life of the church and the
larger community.
Bishop Quinitor Ebenezer Primo
was the first president.
1968
Jenny Moore
The People on Second Street Ministry
This shared ministry brought together the
people of Jersey City NJ and Grace
Episcopal Church to work with the poor,
hungry and rejected.
1969
Judy Ward Lineback is the first woman to
matriculate at the University of the South.
1969
General Convention passes a
resolution in opposition to the death
penalty.
1974
John Westerhoff
Challenged the
church to an
educational revival.
“We are to know
ourselves as molders
of history.”
1974
11 Women are ordained
irregularly in Philadelphia.
Dubbed the Philadelphia Eleven.
Their ordinations
were not validated
until 1979.
1976
Report of the Joint Committee of
the Church and Human Affairs
Affirmed the personhood of
homosexuals and recognizes their
contributions to the Church and to
Society.
1977
Ellen M. Barrett
Was ordained by the Right Rev. Paul
Moore, making her the first openly
homosexual clergy person in the
Episcopal Church.
1979
General Convention authorizes an official church
presence in Washington DC. The Washington
Office, now called the Office of Government
Relations, is the most recent mainline
denominational office to open.
1979
Journey Toward Justice
The report on
the Institutional
Racism Project
in the Diocese
of Southern
Ohio.
Institutional racism is any policy or
practice of an organization which benefits
one race at the expense of other races.
It is not the motivation of the
institution or its members that
counts. What counts are the results
from the policies and practices.
1982
Archbishop Desmond Tutu addresses
General Convention in New Orleans.
General Convention creates Jubilee
Ministries and the Public Policy Network.
1982
The Presiding Bishop’s
Fund for World Relief
celebrated its 50th
anniversary.
1985
Edmond Browning
Former Presiding Bishop
“This Church of
ours is open to all
-- There will be no
outcasts.”
Address to General Convention
1990
Verna Dozier
Adjunct faculty member at Virginia Theological
Seminary.
“...that, to me, is the possibility for a new
humanity, every man, woman and child
says yes to themselves and yes to every
other human being.”
Saying “Yes” in a “No” World, The Witness
Photo by Bob Kinney
1994
National Episcopal Children’s
Advocacy Conference
In Cincinnati OH, child
advocates from across the
country gathered to
discuss ways to implement
programs to advocate and
minister for and with
children and families in
various ways.
1995
Church Insurance Company
mandates child abuse prevention
training for all priests and staff who
work with children.
1995
TREASURE Kids! Project
What would the
Episcopal
Church look like
if children were
accepted as full
and participating
members of the
body of Christ?
The TREASURE Kids!
Project asked Gretchen
Pritchard to look at their
material...
In the Episcopal Church we
TREASURE KIDS!
…she molded it into the
Children’s Charter for the
Church.
1996
Stand for Children
On June 1, 1996
Episcopalians from across
the country joined with more
than 100,000 others to
support the Children’s
Defense Fund’s call to raise
awareness for children.
1997
Resolution passed
asking each diocese to read
and study the
Each diocese is then asked to
“live it out locally.”
1998
400 people gathered to
explore the Children’s
Charter and ways to
live it out in their
parishes and dioceses.
This information compiled from
Don Armentrout, Robert Slocum, Documents of Witness: A History of the
Episcopal Church 1782-1985. Church Hymnal Corporation, 1994
David Holmes, A Brief History of the Episcopal Church, Trinity Press
International, 1993
Robert Prichard, A History of the Episcopal Church, Morehouse Publishing,
1991.
Lesser Feasts and Fasts, Church Pension Fund, 1998
Compiled by
Children’s Ministries Office
Episcopal Church Center
815 Second Ave
New York NY 10017
800/334-7626 x5212