The Massachusetts Episcopal Network for the Poor People's Campaign gathered a group at the Cathedral Church of St. Paul for reflection and conversation ahead of the Jan. 13 unveiling of "The Embrace" on Boston Common. The Poor People's Campaign takes up unfinished work initiated by the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and Episcopalians in the Diocese of Massachusetts are invited to join the movement, however they are able.

"Inspired." "Uplifted." "Empowered." "Curious." "Connected." "Grateful." "Hopeful." "Ready!"

Each person in a circle of about two dozen who gathered at the Cathedral Church of St. Paul in Boston offered a word that was on their heart or mind as they prepared to walk across Tremont Street to the Boston Common on Friday, Jan. 13 for the unveiling of "The Embrace"—the new 22-foot-high bronze sculpture designed by Hank Willis Thomas to commemorate the legacies of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King and the civil rights leaders who worked alongside them in Boston. 

(Listen to an interview with the artist on WBUR's "Here and Now" here.)

"The Embrace": Construction fences and security barriers prevented people from getting close to the new King memorial as it was unveiled on Jan. 13 on Boston Common, but crowds braved rainy weather nonetheless to watch the ceremony on video screens set up around the perimeter.

The cathedral gathering was convened by the Massachusetts Episcopal Network for the Poor People's Campaign which has been organizing Episcopalians in both Massachusetts dioceses over the past year to get involved with the national campaign and its Massachusetts chapter.

The Poor People's Campaign is a coalition movement that is about taking up the unfinished work that Martin Luther King Jr., with others, initiated in 1968 when they called for a "revolution of values" and a movement to unite poor people and their communities. The revived campaign, with the national leadership of the Rev. Dr. Liz Theoharis and the Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II, seeks to address interwoven issues of systemic racism, poverty, ecological devastation, militarism and religious nationalism.

"It seemed like a natural moment for us to gather beforehand, both our diocesan network and with the Poor People's Campaign Massachusetts Chapter, for some fellowship and conversation before we all head over together," the Rev. Paul Shoaf Kozak said in an interview before the pre-unveiling gathering at the cathedral church.

He is a network organizer and the associate pastor for MANNA, the cathedral's ministry with the homeless community in downtown Boston. "The efforts of the Poor People's Campaign fit squarely within our Baptismal Covenant, within resolutions that have been passed within the church, within broader theological ideas that have been present in The Episcopal Church for decades, if not centuries. The campaign is an amalgam of all of that, and people are invited to participate," he said.

Fellow organizer Amelia Slawsby of St. Dunstan's Church in Dover said that a hope for the Massachusetts Episcopal Network for the Poor People's Campaign is that it can be a convener of those already doing work to fight the ills the campaign is trying to confront.

Last October, the Diocesan Convention adopted a resolution calling on congregations and individuals in the diocese to learn about and participate in the campaign.

"One of the great things about the campaign is that it's not about making more structures; it's taking people who are doing work and fighting these fights and bringing them together to have power and unity and one big voice," she said. "We do a lot of good justice work in our diocese and I think that's so important to name. But one of the things the campaign points out is that these injustices are all connected. We have to look at the big picture, and if we can get folks working together, we'll be more successful in that fight," she said.

Working with Episcopal City Mission (ECM) and its statewide campaign on shrinking the racial wealth gap is one example, she said. ECM is offering an online informational session on its campaign on Wednesday, Jan. 25 at 6 p.m. Those who can't attend are welcome to register anyway so that they can receive a recording of the session.

Amelia Slawsby and the Rev. Paul Shoaf Kozak invite others to join them in the Massachusetts Episcopal Network for the Poor People's Campaign. A drop-in Bible study group meets on Zoom on Wednesdays at 9 a.m.

The network also offers a weekly online Bible study on Wednesdays at 9 a.m., using We Cry Justice: Reading the Bible with the Poor People's Campaign (Zoom link here). All are welcome, and anyone can drop in during a given week as they are able. Shoaf Kozak, who leads the Bible study, said they are considering adding another date and time to expand the opportunity.

"You really can jump in as you feel called and able," Slawsby said. "And that's a great thing about the campaign, too. There's space for you, whatever you feel called to give and do. You're welcome and there's room for you."

To learn more about the Poor People's Campaign of Massachusetts, visit its Facebook page and sign up for alerts. To learn more about the Massachusetts Episcopal Network for the Poor People's Campaign, contact Amelia Slawsby at amelia.slawsby@gmail.com or the Rev. Paul Shoaf Kozak at pshoafkozak@diomass.org.

The diocesan Racial Justice Commission begins the new year with a welcome to new members in leadership roles and a renewed focus on objectives for 2023 that are aimed at helping the diocesan community move closer to the ideal of Beloved Community.

New and continuing commission and subcommittee co-chairs gathered with Bishop Alan M. Gates and facilitators on Jan. 7 at St. Mary's Church in Newton Lower Falls for a work retreat to launch the new year.

2023 Racial Justice Commission co-

chairs: The Rev. H. Mark Smith and The Rev. Will Mebane Courtesy photos

It was their first in-person meeting, and included, the Rev. H. Mark Smith said in an interview, "important work around developing relationships and looking at how the Racial Justice Commission as a whole can best support the work of its subcommittees and vice versa."

Smith, a deacon, is the commission's continuing co-chair and is joined this year by new co-chair the Rev. Will Mebane of St. Barnabas's Church in Falmouth. It is the commission's practice to annually put new co-chairs in place to serve alongside continuing ones, for the commission itself and its five subcommittees.

Objectives for the year ahead, Smith said, include implementing next steps toward creating the diocesan Reparations Fund approved by the October 2022 Diocesan Convention, and working with the Commission on Ministry on adding new cross-cultural learning, practice and peer support components to the formation process for postulants and candidates for ordination, also called for by the Diocesan Convention.

Additionally, subcommittees will be "developing and recommending an antiracism basics course for those in the ordination process and others in leadership roles, and the continued work of auditing financial and other systems and structures," Smith said, "all the while continuing to develop and provide activities to support people of color, lay and ordained, across the diocese."

Mebane characterized the work ahead as both challenging and sacred.

"The diocese through the Racial Justice Commission has embarked on a challenging, and some might even say daunting task," he said by e-mail. "However, this sacred work is a response to the baptismal vows that are a central tenet of our faith in God and as followers of Jesus Christ. So, I am confident the ambitious agenda before us will move forward with God's help though the power of the Holy Spirit."

Visit www.diomass.org/racial-justice-commission for the 2023 Racial Justice Commission roster and more details.

"What is Truth?" It's a question that the diocesan Racial Justice Commission's Subcommittee on Reparations invites congregations, groups and individuals to grapple with—and grapple with yet again—with the help of the "What is Truth?" study series it commissioned and launched last Lent.

The upcoming Lenten season offers a new opportunity to engage with the six-session series, which is still available for use at any time as part of the Reparations Toolkit, all online at www.diomass.org/reparations-toolkit.

The Rev. Chris Wendell said the series was a good way for participants at his congregation to extend conversation and learning already underway there. He is the rector of St. Paul's Church in Bedford and a new co-chair, with Constance Perry of Trinity Church in Boston, of the Subcommittee on Reparations.

"We were looking for a way to build on the challenging and life-giving conversations of the Sacred Ground curriculum, and enter into more extended reflection on the topic of reparations. 'What is Truth?' provided gracious room for introspection alongside dialogue, lament alongside transformation, embodiment alongside intellect, which invited us to bring our whole selves into the group—body, mind and spirit. We are each continuing to unpack the wisdom that is emerging from our shared experience months later," Wendell said.

At launch last year, subcommittee member Leonie Drummond of the Church of the Holy Spirit in Mattapan described the series as “an opportunity for a communal and embodied experience, encouraging participants to go past thinking about the concept of truth to really experiencing the practice of truth-telling, however uncomfortable that may seem, and to examine how that feels 'in their bones.'" In feedback provided to the subcommittee, Claudette Gates, also from the Church of the Holy Spirit, said of her experience with the study, "There was deep reflection, which caused varying emotions to emerge, but we practiced listening and sharing with each other."

The series' six sessions are two hours each, with materials designed to facilitate a collective community process without the need for an instructor or leader’s guide—part of the richness and the challenge of the series, according to subcommittee leaders.

"'What is Truth?' has been found to be a useful resource for individuals and congregations to engage in conversations and deepen relationships, regardless of where they are on the journey of exploration of what is truth," subcommittee co-chair Constance Perry said of the series. "It paves the way for deeper reflection and conversation as congregations tackle the more challenging and transformative work as together we create the Beloved Community."

Celebrating 20 years of episcopal ministry: On Jan. 18, 2023, the Diocese of Massachusetts marks the 20th anniversary of Bishop Gayle E. Harris's ordination and consecration as bishop, with gratitude and best wishes. This video photo montage, produced for the October 2022 Diocesan Convention, captures moments from across the years of Harris's ministry as bishop suffragan, from which she retires in March. In April she begins as the assistant bishop in the Diocese of Virginia. Godspeed, Bishop Gayle!

Click image to view.

Considering applying to the ordination process this year? Registration is open for annual Ministry Discernment Conference: The annual Ministry Discernment Conference offered by the bishops and the Commission on Ministry will be held online via Zoom on Saturday, Feb. 4, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

This conference will provide an in-depth look at the 2023 edition of the Ministry Discernment Handbook and give potential inquirers an opportunity to learn about the ordination process in the Diocese of Massachusetts as they consider whether their call is to ordained ministry or committed lay ministry. Anyone considering applying for admission to the ordination process in 2023 is required to attend the conference, along with a sponsoring priest and at least one member of the parish discernment committee. 

Find more information and registration here.

Gather online to discuss Ladder to the Light: The Dioceses of Massachusetts and Western Massachusetts Indigenous Peoples' Justice Network invites all who are interested to join an online book discussion on Thursday, Feb. 2 at 7 p.m., focused on Ladder to the Light: An Indigenous Elder's Meditation on Hope and Courage by Bishop Steven Charleston. As both Choctaw elder and bishop, Charleston serves as an advocate and Indigenous prophetic voice in The Episcopal Church and beyond. Find more details here.

Applications to Life Together are open: Are you or someone you know interested in a year of growth and deeper impact in your communities? Applications to Life Together and other Episcopal Service Corps programs across the country are now open. Life Together offers fellows a year of learning skills for social justice leadership and deepening spiritual practices, all while serving at dynamic social change organizations in the Boston area. Fellows receive housing in Boston and a cost-of-living stipend, among other benefits. Find the application here and contact Jocelyn Collen (jocelyn@diomassintern.org) at Life Together for more information.

Church invited to mark historic consecration of "pioneer and prophet" Barbara C. Harris: Feb. 11 is the anniversary of the historic 1989 consecration of the late Rt. Rev. Barbara C. Harris in the Diocese of Massachusetts, which elected her in 1988 as its bishop suffragan. She was the first woman to become a bishop in the worldwide Anglican Communion.

Last July, after some legislative back and forth, the 81st General Convention of The Episcopal Church adopted a compromise resolution, C023, to include observance of Harris's Feb. 11 consecration date in the church's Lesser Feasts and Fasts calendar. The church's Standing Commission on Liturgy and Music was also directed to prepare the appropriate proper, as well as historical and biographical materials for future General Convention consideration of whether to add to the Church Calendar a full commemoration of Harris's life, work and witness.

While that work makes its way through the church's channels, congregations are encouraged this year to mark Harris's consecration on Saturday, Feb. 11 or Sunday, Feb. 12. A collection of resources prepared in 2021 for the 32nd anniversary of her consecration is still available for use here.

"Throughout the church Bishop Harris was a courageous pioneer, an outspoken prophet and an indefatigable champion of God's justice and witness to God's grace. In the Diocese of Massachusetts she was for us also a wise counselor and faithful companion," Bishop Alan M. Gates wrote in presenting those resources in 2021, adding, "It has ever been the delight of the faithful to recollect with gratitude the lives of those in whom Christ's love has been manifest. We commemorate their lives for the inspiration and strength which we derive from their witness. We turn to them also as continuing companions in the Spirit, forebears of whose love and prayers we remain assured."

In the news: "Our church, with its flawed and racist history, has yet recognized the powerful witness and lives of faith of these and other Black saints." Read the Rev. Lise Hildebrandt's Jan. 2 letter in the Boston Globe here.

Jan 18: Creation Care Justice Network, via Zoom, 7:00pm

Jan 20-21: Diocesan Council Retreat, Barbara C. Harris Camp and Conference Center, Greenfield, N.H.

Jan 21: Practical Aspects of Congregational Leadership Seminar: Parochial Report Prep (Non-financial Sections), via Zoom, 9:00am

Jan 21: Ordination to the Priesthood: The Rev. Curtis Coppersmith, St. Paul's Church, Newburyport, 11:00am

Jan 25: Info Session: Episcopal City Mission Campaign to Shrink the Racial Wealth Gap in MA, via Zoom, 6:00pm

Jan 25: Service of Prayer for Christian Unity, The Rev. Edwin Johnson, preaching, Cathedral Church of St. Paul, Boston, 7:00pm

Jan 28: Confirmation Service (Bilingual in Spanish and English), St. Peter's-San Pedro Church, Salem, 10:30am

Jan 28: Ordination to the Priesthood: The Rev. Joseph Kimmel, St. Anne's in-the-Fields Church, Lincoln, 2:00pm

Jan 29: Bishop Gates visits Church of Our Saviour in Brookline

Jan 29: Chinese New Year Celebration, Cathedral Church of St. Paul, Boston, 3:00pm

Jan 31: Practical Aspects of Congregational Leadership Seminar: Parochial Report Prep (Financial Sections), via Zoom, 9:00am

Feb 2: Dioceses of Massachusetts and Western Massachusetts Indigenous Peoples' Justice Network Book Discussion: Ladder to the Light, via Zoom, 7:00pm

Feb 4: Practical Aspects of Congregational Leadership Seminar: Parochial Report Prep (Financial Sections), via Zoom, 9:00am

Feb 4: 2023 Ministry Discernment Conference, via Zoom, 9:00am

Feb 4: Ordination to the Priesthood: The Rev. Hal Edmonson, Epiphany Parish, Walpole, 2:00pm

Feb 5: Bishop Gates visits All Saints' Church in Belmont

Feb 10: Installation of The Rev. Chitral de Mel at Church of the Good Shepherd, Dedham, 6:00pm

Feb 11: Ordination to the Priesthood: The Rev. Elizabeth Marshall Casasola, St. Peter's Church, Spotswood, N.J., 10:00am

Feb 12: Bishop Gates visits All Saints', Ashmont in Dorchester

Feb 12: MANNA at Winter Walk Boston

Feb 16: Diocesan Council Meeting, via Zoom, 6:00pm

Feb 26: Bishop Gates visits All Saints Parish, Brookline

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