By Egan Millard
Posted Feb 22, 2021
[Episcopal News Service] The Diocese of New York held a celebratory virtual service on Feb. 20 as part of its ongoing commemoration of Absalom Jones, the first Black priest in The Episcopal Church, whose feast day is Feb. 13. The service featured performances of music and poetry and remarks from Vice President of the House of Deputies Byron Rushing and New York Bishop Andrew Dietsche.
The morning prayer service was organized by the diocese’s Absalom Jones Celebration Committee, which hosted a panel discussion on Feb. 10 about Jones’ role as an essential worker during the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, yellow fever epidemic of 1793. The committee is also coordinating a mutual aid project in honor of Jones.
It is their effort to keep her legacy of truth and equality alive. She was a poet. She was a scholar. She was a lawyer, said Jesse Huddleston, a member of the Pauli Murray Center board.
Raised in Durham s West End community, Pauli Murray became the first female Black Episcopal priest. Born Anna Pauline Murray in 1910, she became one of the most important social justice activists of the 20th century. Her life intersected all major human and civil rights issues of our time including racial equality, women s rights and LGBT rights. Because she s from here, it makes the power of her legacy just so much stronger, said State Rep. Vernetta Alston.
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