As evening darkness fell over Harvard Square in Cambridge on Oct. 12, a big screen erected on the front lawn of Christ Church lit up with a message for all to see:

"Here Lies Darby Vassall."

With two families of Darby Vassall descendants watching from front-row folding chairs amid a standing crowd of parishioners, guests and curious passers-by, the 11-minute film had its outdoor debut on the anniversary of Vassall's death in 1861. As part of a multimedia installation created by researcher and artist Nicole Piepenbrink, it is putting a public spotlight on some historical facts that many at the iconic 1759 church became aware of only recently.

Darby Vassall, son of Tony and Cuba, was born in 1769 into enslavement by the Vassall family, early benefactors of Christ Church. After slavery was made unlawful in Massachusetts in 1783, he went on to become a leader in Boston's Black community, helping to found a mutual aid society for Black Bostonians, petitioning for state funding for Black children's schooling and advocating all his life for equal rights and abolition of slavery.

The multimedia installation at Christ Church in Cambridge is putting a public spotlight on the parish's entanglement in the legacy of slavery. Photo: Tracy J. Sukraw

No one knows why, but it was Darby Vassall's choice to be buried in the Vassall family tomb under Christ Church's sanctuary.

None of the four published histories about Christ Church mention the origins of money used to fund the church's construction, maintenance and growth, even as the slave trade and its related enterprises continued to enrich church benefactors into the 19th century.

Piepenbrink started her "Here Lies Darby Vassall" thesis project two years ago at Harvard's Graduate School of Design with "an interest in looking at how spatial conditions of church buildings with historic designations tell selective stories about the past. Stories that continue to shape our psyches, influence our actions and perpetuate injustices in the present," she said during a church ceremony at the film installation's launch.

"Analyzing the spatial conditions of Christ Church revealed that the only physical marker on this site that nods to the history of slavery can be found on a framed sheet of paper positioned at the back of the Vassall tomb in the basement. One-and-a-half lines state that Darby Vassall, son of Tony Vassall, is buried in the tomb."

Christ Church's rector, the Rev. Kate Ekrem, said the film project is a first step in the parish's efforts to acknowledge and reckon with its "entanglement in the legacy of slavery."

"We have learned that history is not just a set of facts but the way you tell the story, and that we've been telling the story wrong," Ekrem told the gathering. "We've been accepting stories that we should have been questioning, and we've been forgetting stories we should have remembered."

The blessing of doing this work as a church, she said, is that "Jesus shows us how to move forward in forgiveness and reconciliation into resurrection and liberation. But forgiveness and reconciliation start with repentance, start with telling the whole story, and that's what we begin to do today."

"Here Lies Darby Vassall" will play for the public on Christ Church's outdoor screen, on a loop, daily from 6 to 8 p.m. through All Saints Sunday, Nov. 6. It is also available for viewing on the project website, hereliesdarbyvassall.art.

Racial and economic justice actions top the voting agenda for the upcoming Diocesan Convention—including the creation of a Reparations Fund "as a part of our effort to address our legacy of the wealth accumulated through the enslaved labor of Africans and Afro-Caribbeans."

Taking place Oct. 28-29 at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel North Shore in Danvers, it will be the diocese's first in-person convention since 2019.

A $9.4-million proposed budget for 2023 will come before the convention—balanced but reflecting challenging economic consequences of the COVID pandemic. The convention also will elect deputies to the 2024 General Convention of The Episcopal Church.

Saturday's business sessions will be undergirded by a discussion program the previous afternoon, open to all and exploring discipleship and justice through the lens of the convention theme, taken from John 13: "By This They Will Know You: The Call of Love in Our Time and Place."  

There are in-person and online options to participate in Friday's afternoon discussion program. A dinner and hymn sing follow in the evening for those present at the hotel.  

Saturday's agenda includes a morning service of Holy Eucharist, with Bishop Alan M. Gates's annual address, and all business sessions.

The convention will also be recognizing Bishop Suffragan Gayle E. Harris, who has announced her upcoming retirement after nearly 20 years of episcopal ministry.  

Delegates, clergy and all with voice and/or vote will participate in person, with a livestream available for guest viewing. (The livestream will be presented via a virtual event management platform, so pre-registration will be necessary to access it.)

Find registration, materials and updates at www.diomass.org/diocesan-convention-2022.

Bishop Carol Gallagher offers people arriving at Christ Church in Plymouth a smudging ritual to welcome, bless and prepare for prayer. Photo: Tracy J. Sukraw

• View the recording of the Oct. 9 service at Old North Church in Boston, with guest preacher Canon Cornelia Eaton of the Episcopal Church in Navajoland here.

• View the recording of the Oct. 10 gathering at Christ Church in Plymouth here, and photos from the event here.

• NBC Boston coverage is here.

Join online for churchwide Election Day Prayers: As polls begin to close on Nov. 8 for the U.S. midterm elections, all are invited to join an Election Day Prayers gathering online hosted by The Episcopal Church's Office of Government Relations.

Tune in from 8 p.m. to midnight EST via the Episcopal Public Policy Network Facebook page or the Episcopal Church Facebook page. Viewers do not need a Facebook profile to participate.

At the top of each hour, special guests from around the church will offer 10-15 minutes of reflection and prayer. Participants are encouraged to engage in prayerful conversation in the comments. The gathering will also feature simple video feeds from parishes throughout the U.S.

Scheduled guests include Presiding Bishop Michael Curry and House of Deputies President Julia Ayala Harris.

“We welcome everyone as we reflect on this key process of our common life and on the importance of fair elections for our democracy,” Rebecca Linder Blachly, director of the Office of Government Relations, said in a publicity release. “We hope many voters will join us that day to pray for our leaders, neighbors and country.”

The Office of Government Relations offers a 2022 Vote Faithfully Midterm Election Engagement Toolkit and other resources for parishes interested in voter advocacy. Learn more here.

Presiding bishop nominating committee releases churchwide survey, seeks participation by Oct. 31: The Episcopal Church Joint Nominating Committee for the Election of the Presiding Bishop invites all Episcopalians to participate in a survey. The responses will help the committee develop a profile of the skills, qualities and gifts the church seeks in its next presiding bishop, considering what the church and world may look like in the next decade.

The church’s General Convention will elect the next presiding bishop in the summer of 2024.

The deadline for completing the survey—which can be found online here in English, French and Spanish—is Oct. 31.

“We want to hear from Episcopalians throughout the church because their input will help guide us in our nominating work,” committee member Deborah Harmon Hines, who chairs the profile subcommittee, said in an Oct. 10 news release. “The survey is designed to help us all discern some of the characteristics we hope to see in the person we will elect as the next presiding bishop.”

The survey—which takes about 15 minutes to complete—asks respondents to define the most important issues facing The Episcopal Church and the world in the next 10 years, as well as the foremost gifts or skills the next presiding bishop will need to lead the church. Participants are also asked to rank in importance areas of experience for the presiding bishop to have. The survey includes an open section for additional feedback and ends with optional questions requesting information on age, race, gender, role in the church and years as an Episcopalian. Read more here.

Jeffrey Mello consecrated 16th bishop of Connecticut [Episcopal News Service]: The Rt. Rev. Jeffrey W. Mello, former rector of St. Paul's Church in Brookline, was ordained and consecrated bishop diocesan of the Episcopal Church in Connecticut on Oct. 15 at the Connecticut Convention Center in Hartford. He succeeds Bishop Ian T. Douglas, who has led the diocese since April 2010.

Bishop Jeffrey Mello, pictured with his family, at the Oct. 15 consecration service

“Your new bishop will be excellent because he knows joy,” the Rev. Meaghan Brower, the executive director of the Episcopal Conference Center in Rhode Island, said in her sermon. “And he will point you to Jesus, he will point you to joy. He will remind you of the fact that God loves you abundantly and unconditionally and part of that love includes living a life of joy.” Read the full story here.

"Prophets among us": Two new Episcopal Church-produced films capture living history and conversation with the Rev. Canon Edward W. Rodman, longtime canon missioner in the Diocese of Massachusetts, now retired, and known churchwide as a strategist, advocate and activist for civil rights and social justice and an educator and mentor across generations in the church. Find links to both films here.

"Individual stories, our collective story": A group of Asian Pacific Islander American (APIA) Episcopalians gathered on Sept. 24 for a retreat at Bethany House of Prayer in Arlington. The intent of the retreat, the Rev. Diane Wong said, was "for us to get to know one another better, build community and set goals for the next church year. With Bernardine Ileto as our facilitator, and using silence, doing art in pairs and storytelling, we shared our individual stories and our collective story." The APIA group gets together monthly and welcomes newcomers; the next gathering is Oct. 20. Those who would like to know more may contact Wong at dianeckwong@gmail.com or Grace Knowles at booker04@msn.com. Courtesy photo

St. Mary's, Barnstable recognized as "invaluable partner": Congratulations go to St. Mary's Church in Barnstable, this year's recipient of the Community Partner Award from Habitat for Humanity of Cape Cod. The honor recognizes "a local nonprofit or public agency that has been an invaluable partner with Habitat in building much-needed and quality affordable homes on Cape Cod." The award was presented at the organization's annual volunteer appreciation celebration on Oct. 6 in West Dennis. Courtesy photo

Young adults invited to gather for an afternoon of community: The Young Adult Advisory Committee and campus ministries in the diocese, with support from friends in the Diocese of New Hampshire, invite Episcopalians ages 18-39 for a low-stress, high-fun afternoon to spend time with old friends and make new ones. The gathering will be on Saturday, Nov. 5, 4-7 p.m., at Trinity Church in Boston.

The afternoon will offer board games, heavy hors d’oeuvres, Evening Prayer and a special opt-in listening session to share with the diocesan Racial Justice Commission participants' thoughts, feelings, concerns and questions about reparations to the descendants of enslaved Africans in this country.

Register by Nov. 3 here.

Boston Globe: With new headstone, Marblehead won't let enslaved woman be forgotten: On Sept. 25, more than 50 residents turned out to watch as leaders of the Marblehead Racial Justice Team, a local advocacy group, unveiled a new replica of the original headstone placed for Agnes, an enslaved woman who died in 1718 and was buried in her enslaver's family plot on Old Burial Hill.

Agnes was baptized about two years before her death, according to documents kept by St. Michael’s Church in Marblehead; several other enslaved people in Marblehead were baptized at St. Michael’s, but none memorialized as was Agnes.

“Agnes stands for all … people of color who have been forgotten, who built this country out of their blood, their sweat, and their toil, unknown and unpaid,” the Rt. Rev. Gayle E. Harris, the Episcopal bishop suffragan of the Diocese of Massachusetts, told the crowd. “We stand here remembering Agnes and all those others who go unnamed in our history books.” Find the full story here.

WCAI-Radio: Vineyarders gather, reflect on experience with migrants: Nearly 50 volunteers on Martha’s Vineyard who helped shelter and feed the Venezuelan migrants flown to the island last month gathered for a time of shared reflection. Many who gathered at St. Andrew’s Church in Edgartown, the same shelter where the 48 migrants stayed for two nights, said the experience changed them forever. Listen to the story here.

WCVB-TV: Music therapy programs allow children to express themselves: The music therapy program at Esperanza Academy in Lawrence aims to help students express themselves, manage stress and restore well-being through music. WCVB-Channel 5 Boston recently visited Esperanza to learn more about how the school's partnership with the Center for Music Therapy at Berklee College supports wellness for the Esperanza community. Esperanza Academy is an independent tuition-free middle school for girls at Grace Church in Lawrence. Watch the story here.

Oct 19: Creation Care Justice Network, via Zoom, 7:00pm

Oct 20: Diocesan Council Meeting, via Zoom, 6:00pm

Oct 20: Asian Pacific Islander Americans Gathering, location TBD, 6:15pm

Oct 22: Practical Aspects of Congregational Leadership Seminar: Clergy Compensation, via Zoom, 9:00am

Oct 22: Episcopal City Mission Annual Meeting, via Zoom, 9:00am

Oct 23: Bishop Gates visits Grace Church in Medford

Oct 28-29: Diocesan Convention, DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel North Shore, Danvers

Oct 30: Harvard Square Faith Communities & The Legacy of Slavery: Landscape of Slavery Tour, Sunken Garden at Radcliffe, Cambridge, 3:00pm

Nov 1: Ordination to the Priesthood: The Rev. Adam L. Dawkins, Trinity Church, Stoughton, 6:00pm

Nov 5: Harvard Square Faith Communities & The Legacy of Slavery: Darby Vassall Quiet Day, 9:00am

Nov 5: Installation of The Rev. Christopher Capaldo at Parish of St. Chrysostom, Quincy, 10:00am

Nov 5: "Let Go, Come Together": An Afternoon of Young Adult Community sponsored by diocesan Young Adult Advisory Committee, Trinity Church, Boston, 4:00pm

Nov 6: Swords to Plowshares: Transforming Guns into Garden Tools, St. Peter's Church, Dartmouth, 10:00am

Nov 6: Choral Evensong, Trinity Church, Concord, 5:00pm

Nov 13: Bishop Gates visits Trinity Church in Woburn

Nov 15: "Episcopal Church 101" with Bishop Gayle Harris, via Zoom, 6:00pm

Nov 19: Lay Eucharistic Visitor Training, via Zoom, 9:30am

Nov 20: Bishop Harris visits Church of the Advent in Medfield

Nov 20: Bishop Gates visits Episcopal Chinese Ministry Boston

Nov 29: Practical Aspects of Congregational Leadership Seminar: Year-End Financial Matters, via Zoom, 9:00am

Nov 29: "Episcopal Church 101" with Bishop Gayle Harris, via Zoom, 6:00pm

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