Embracing Differences

Now I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you be in agreement and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same purpose.

1 Corinthians 1:10 Embracing Differences

Hispanic Lay Leadership Conference Expands with International Presence

Nearly 265 Episcopalians participated in the Hispanic Lay Leadership Conference June 14-15 at Camp Allen. This year, the commission extended the invitation to the Dioceses of Guatemala, Brazil and Costa Rica. Clergy from Jamaica and New York also participated—making it the largest Spanish-speaking conference in the Episcopal Church. Aside from having international and national presence, another highlight of the conference was that lay leaders had the opportunity to host their own workshops, allowing them to share their knowledge and leadership skills with attendees. “Two years ago, I came to the conference as a participant, and now I’m hosting my own workshop. You can all do this,” said Virginia Cordoba, lay leader of San Mateo, Bellaire. Cordoba gives credit to Bishop Hector Monterroso’s words she heard two years ago about everyone taking the role of becoming a missioner and an active leader of the Church.

The next conference will take place June 19-20, 2020 at Camp Allen.

The Presiding Officer’s Advisory Council on Becoming Beloved Community has awarded the Brazos Valley Common Good Program at St. Andrew’s, Bryan and The One Human Race Initiative at St. James’, Austin, with a grant of $10,000 and $6,000, respectively, to further catalyze the Episcopal Church’s work on racial healing, reconciliation and justice. The Advisory Council received 74 applications from across the Church featuring a unique and inspiring vision for racial healing, reconciliation and justice. The requests far exceeded available resources. This is part of The One Human Race Initiative program. Grant recipient and St. Andrew's, Bryan, parishioner Jill Pollock’s proposal, from the Brazos Valley Common Good Program, includes holding three forums, each on a different topic: policing, housing, and education, at three churches within the Brazos Valley. In addition to forums, a new website will be created to highlight the events, including social media and emailed notices to more than 400 churches in the area to ensure the widest and most diverse audience is reached for participation and action. The grant will also fund data analytics from raw data gathered by government organizations, like the required annual report by police chiefs and county sheriffs, and the annual Regional Needs Assessment, a federally-funded Prevention Resource Center. Proposal author Teresa Chang, the executive committee member of One Human Race of St. James’, Austin, hopes the grant will allow them to hold two facilitator trainings and workshops in three Texas towns outside of Austin. The money awarded will also be used to train a dozen of facilitators within the next 2-3 years. Churches and other organizations such as the Episcopal Health Foundation, The Union of Black Episcopalians in Austin and Houston, and Court Appointed Special Advocates of Williamson County will be involved by promoting, preparing their communities, and hosting workshops and other events. Members of these communities will be invited to become volunteers and panel members. Two Churches in Diocese Among First to Receive Grant Awards from Advisory Council on Becoming Beloved Community

The One Human Race offers communities knowledge and tools to examine their own racial biases and form healthy multicultural communities by showing the PBS documentary “Race: The Power of an Illusion,” sharing their own personal stories and providing a safe space for participants to share this.

Pauli Murray Scholarship Gala Raises Thousands to Support Seminarians of Color

As the Episcopal Diocese of Texas keeps growing, the need to raise up leaders who reflect the diversity within our communities becomes more vital.

In an effort to ease the financial burden for those seeking priesthood, the Pauli Murray Scholarship Gala, which took place in September 2019, raised approximately $60,000 during its first fundraising campaign.

by Paulette E. Martin

It was a grassroot event that connected people who once knew the legendary civil rights activist and rector, the Rev. Pauli Murray.

The scholarship is named after Anna Pauline (Pauli) Murray, who in 1977 was the first African-American woman to become an Episcopal priest.

The Pauli Murray Scholarship was created as a pathway to help African-American students and other students of color earn a Master of Divinity degree at the Seminary of the Southwest in Austin.

“The Pauli Murray Scholarship comes up out of a real need that was experienced in one of our congregations when an aspirant who felt the call to ministry didn’t believe that they had the financial resources to achieve that goal,” said the Rt. Rev. Andy Doyle, bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Texas.

Doyle adds he aims to “have leaders in the diocese who represent and look like our demographic content, in other words, that our diversity in leadership would match the people that we hope to serve.”

The Rev. Jim Harrington, a newly-ordained priest at St. James’, Austin, and human rights attorney, serves as the co-chair for the Pauli Murray Scholarship Committee.

“Our goal is to ultimately provide a scholarship every year for somebody for the length of three years,” said Harrington.

The scholarship would provide $15,000-$20,000 in living expenses, according to need. This includes monthly college student loan payments.

Harrington explains the Seminary will administer the Pauli Murray Scholarship and will do an initial screening to measure candidates’ potential. The Seminary will then consult with the committee to identify the recipient.

As part of the stipend, the Seminary will also provide full tuition and facilitate housing on its campus and other funding and grants to the recipient.

During the gala, Lee Crawford, one of the members of the Gala Planning Committee, had the honor of introducing Murray’s cousin and niece to attendees.

Crawford, who has known Harrington for more than 25 years, also has a unique connection to Murray. A former student of Murray, he vividly recalls taking her “Political and Civil Liberties in the United States” course at Brandeis University in the early 1970s.

“She was wonderfully inspiring to us as a teacher. She always brought a sense of joy and happiness with her to class,” shared Crawford.

Crawford claims Murray became a very strong influence that steered him into studying law.

The gala not only served as a way to reconnect people and raise money for seminarians, but it also highlighted the quick grassroot response and support from congregations in both the Episcopal and Lutheran denominations.

The Rev. Jim Harrington, co-chair of the Pauli Murray Scholarship Committee, opens the gala. Lee Crawford, member of the Pauli Murray Scholarship Committee, welcomes Pauli Murray’s family.

The Very Rev. Cynthia Briggs Kittredge, dean, president and professor of the Seminary of the Southwest, speaks at the gala.