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St. Thomas and Over 225 Years of the Black Presence in the Episcopal Church

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St. Thomas and Over 225 Years of the Black Presence in the Episcopal Church Like a Mighty Stream, Let Justice Roll. Absalom, Jehu and Beyond… THE CELEBRATION OF THE HOLY EUCHARIST IN THANKSGIVING FOR THE FOUNDING OF THE AFRICAN EPISCOPAL CHURCH OF ST. THOMAS AND OVER 225 YEARS OF THE BLACK PRESENCE IN THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH 7:00 P.M. TUESDAY, JULY 25, 2017 THE AFRICAN EPISCOPAL CHURCH OF ST. THOMAS 6361 LANCASTER AVE, PHILADELPHIA, PA 19151 AFRICAN DESCENT LUTHERAN ASSOCIATION & THE UNION OF BLACK EPISCOPALIANS Welcome… On the behalf of all the members of the Union of Black Episcopalians and African Descent Lutheran Association through the world, we bid you welcome. We are gathered in this space as a one people reconciled to God through Jesus Christ. We gather to celebrate the many traditions and heritages of our Episcopal/Lutheran identity. We come from intimate rural parishes and sprawling urban ones, as longtime church members and newcomers to the faith. As we gather, we bring our diverse gifts: gifts of music, dance, prophecy, teaching, preaching, and friendship. We present these gifts in the form of our most precious offering to God, our very selves, that all that we do may be for God’s glory in the unity of Christ’s church. We “gather with the saints at the river that flows by the throne of God” as we are united one to another in stream of baptism. As we come together at the font and renew our baptismal vows, we affirm the promise of our faith: that we are made in God’s image to do God’s work, that we are members of Christ’s one body, and that, empowered by the Spirit, we are participants in a divine mystery. The covenant that we remember today is a sign of God’s unfailing love for all creation, as well as a call to take our part in God’s transforming work. On this joyful occasion, we invite all present in this place, to pray for guidance for our two denominations, our Presiding Bishops, African Descent Lutherans and the Union of Black Episcopalians as we seek to envision the reign of God in our midst. May our celebration today unite us as a sacramental community, and may we leave this place filled with new energy for God’s work in the world. THE HOLY EUCHARIST PAGE 2 WE GIVE THANKS for the work and ministries of the descendants of the African Diaspora in Episcopal Church and the Evangelical Lutheran Church as we worship together “in the beauty of holiness”. Today we gather to commemorate and give thanks for the lives and ministries of pioneers in faith. The Reverend Absalom Jones and The Reverend Jehu Jones Jr.. Their lives and witness have brought us to this day as we celebrate our common heritage. THE REVEREND ABSALOM JONES, PRIEST (November 7, 1746 – February 13, 1818) was an African-American abolitionist and clergyman. After founding, St. Thomas African Episcopal Church, a black congregation in 1792, he was the first African American ordained as a priest in the Episcopal Church of the United States, in 1804. Absalom Jones and Richard Allen founded the Free African Society (FAS), first conceived as a non- denominational mutual aid society, to help newly freed slaves in Philadelphia. Jones and Allen later separated, as their religious lives took different directions after 1794 as discussed below, but they remained lifelong friends and collaborators. He is listed on the Episcopal calendar of saints and remembered liturgically on the date of his death, February 13, in the 1979 Book of Common Prayer as "Absalom Jones, Priest, 1818". THE REVEREND JEHU JONES, JR., PASTOR (1786–1852) was a Lutheran minister who founded one of the first African- American Lutheran congregations in the United States, as well as actively involved in improving the social welfare of blacks. In 1832, Jones was ordained in New York as a missionary Pastor. The Lutheran Church in Philadelphia later appointed Jones as a missionary to the city's black population, which became St. Paul’s Lutheran Church. Jones remained active in the Philadelphia African American congregation, as well as Pennsylvania politics and the national Colored Conventions Movement through at least 1851, the year before his death. In 1845, he helped organize a convention to unite freed blacks to petition for civil rights. Jones also founded Lutheran Churches (with congregations of all races) in Gettysburg and Chambersburg. THE HOLY EUCHARIST PAGE 3 July 22, 2017 On the Occasion of the Gathering of the African Descent Lutheran Association and the Union of Black Episcopalians Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, As you gather together for Like a Rolling Stream, Let Justice Roll, I give thanks for the transformative and live-giving work of the African Descent Lutheran Association and the Union of Black Episcopalians -work in the historic black church and wider Episcopal and Evangelical Lutheran communities that has been and will continue to be a witness to the movement that Jesus of Nazareth inaugurated. It is fitting that you are meeting in Philadelphia this summer, we celebrate the city’s African Episcopal Church of St. Thomas’ 225th anniversary. This parish, of which The Episcopal Church is justly proud, has a long legacy of raising up all of God’s children with the calling of Absalom Jones to be the Episcopal Church’s first black priest, historic connections to the Underground Railroad in the city, and the fight for Civil Rights. In fact, because of St. Thomas’ commitment to raising up leaders for communities of the African diaspora, the Rev. William Levington was sent from the parish to Baltimore, founding St. James’ Church, where I would (much later) serve as rector. St. Thomas’ legacy, build on the gospel of Jesus, is an excellent foundation for our future work. It is also my privilege and joy to see this gathering take place this year, when we commemorate the 500th Anniversary of the beginning of the Protestant Reformation. It is altogether appropriate for our two churches, united by our Call to Common Mission and firm reliance on the Lord, to celebrate Luther’s opening of the Reformation -an event which would change and inspire the Church, and eventually bear out our own traditions and Communions. As we remember these momentous events, may we all recommit ourselves to speaking truth to power, immersing ourselves in Scripture, and telling out the gospel message that God’s grace is, through Jesus, given freely to all people. This is Good News indeed! I remain, Your brother in Christ, The Most Rev. Michael B. Curry Presiding Bishop and Primate The Episcopal Church THE HOLY EUCHARIST PAGE 4 July 22, 2017 Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, My prayers have been with you in your planning and preparations for this historic joint meeting of the African Descent Lutheran Association and the Union of Black Episcopalians, Like a Rolling Stream, Let Justice Roll. It is with joy and thanksgiving that I join you here in Philadelphia for this special occasion and celebration of the 225th anniverary of The African Episcopal Church of St. Thomas. I give thanks to God for your witness and transformative work within The Episcopal Church, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, as part of the historic black church tradition, and together as ecumenical partners. In our full communion agreement, Called to Common Mission, we claimed that “our search for a fuller expression of visible unity is for the sake of living and sharing the gospel. Unity and mission are at the heart of the church’s life.” Together you are living and sharing the gospel, giving fuller expression to our unity in Christ. We know that we cannot discern God’s future for us without knowing and commemorating our past. On the occasion of the 500th anniverary of the Reformation, it is fitting that we join together in honoring the history of those Episcopalians and Lutherans of African Desecent who are our foremothers and forefathers in the faith, including the Rev. Absalom Jones and the Rev. Jehu Jones, Jr., and countless others, named and unnamed. Their lives and ministries are an essential part of the history of the Protestant Reformation, and therefore, inform our lives together today. In reflecting on your theme, I went back to the words of the Prophet Amos. In chapter 5, verse 21 – just two verses before the verse we know so well, we read, “I hate, I despise your festivals, and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies.” We are reminded, therefore, of our charge to bear God’s justice and Christ’s righteouness. Without it, our celebrations ring empty. So, dear sisters and brothers, let us recommit ourselves to let justice roll – in us, and through us, so that together we may bear witness to the One who is the most righteous, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Your sister in Christ, The Rt. Rev. Elizabeth A. Eaton Presiding Bishop Evangelical Lutheran Church in America 8765 West Higgins Road Chicago, Illinois 60631-4101 773-380-2700 800-638-3522 ELCA.org LivingLutheran.com THE HOLY EUCHARIST PAGE 5 Union of Black Episcopalians July 25, 2017 Dear Brothers and Sisters, On behalf of the UBE National Board, I am pleased to extend greetings to you as we commemorate this important milestone, the 225th anniversary of the Black presence within the Episcopal Church, with the founding of the African Episcopal Church of St. Thomas in Philadelphia by the Rev. Absalom Jones, the first priest of African descent. As modeled by Reverend Absalom, the mission of UBE continues to be forwarding the Gospel of Jesus Christ within the Church and the world – a gospel of justice, liberty and reconciliation.
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